


Bonds

by EnnaRhyss



Category: Fate/stay night & Related Fandoms, Fate/stay night (Visual Novel)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Gen, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-08
Updated: 2016-08-18
Packaged: 2018-04-13 16:59:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 43,093
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4529907
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EnnaRhyss/pseuds/EnnaRhyss
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Daily life of college student Tohsaka Rin. Weird people come to this house. They rarely leave.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Defiance

**Author's Note:**

  * For [whenlilacsbloom](https://archiveofourown.org/users/whenlilacsbloom/gifts).



> This started as a skype conversation and, before we knew it, it became something much bigger.

The Tohsaka mansion, situated in the western part of the residential zone in Fuyuki city, was one of the oldest buildings in the area. In fact, if you asked the head of the house, Tokiomi Tohsaka, he would gladly tell you that it may very well be one of the houses that established Fuyuki city. His great-great-grandfather visited Japan on one of his travels as a young man, saw the beautiful river and decided that he will spend his life there. Couple of decades later, he, now a well-known jeweler in Germany, left the rapidly growing country pursuing his dream of living the rest of his life in beautiful Japan. With his two hands, and together with many Germans he brought with him, they built the Tohsaka mansion from scratch. Many of the workers returned back to their families in Germany, but some left, having become servants of the Tohsaka family for generations to come.

Of course, this was only according to Tohsaka family. If you asked the Matou household, which was just as old as Tohsaka family there was a very big chance you would hear the same story, with just a few minor changes. The Emiya family, on the other hand, would just shrug and say they moved here ten years ago and the dispute over founding Fuyuki city does not concern them.

If you were ever to investigate this further and go to the official Fuyuki city archive, there may be a possibility you will find a document which states that the families that moved to this place already encountered an established city at the river bedside.

However, there was no denying that Tohsaka family was one of the more influential families in the city. Having passed the jewelry business for generations, they introduced the people in the city to the unique way of crafting jewels and soon earned the popularity needed for living a comfortable life. Their business boomed, and even today, people from all around the region come to this town in search for a jewel that will shine as bright as their future. Yes, it was said that an engagement ring crafted by the Tohsaka would show you the brightness of your future and happiness.

Graceful and proud, they always formed the path for their new heir to the family towards the tradition. Unfortunately, this calm evening in March, something happened that shook the whole foundation of the Tohsaka household.

“Why do you refuse to listen to us?”

Tohsaka Rin sighed. She was the daughter of Tokiomi Tohsaka, and she was the first in line to inherit the business. Since she was a little girl, she walked beside her father, learning everything about jewelry she could. By the age of twelve, she could estimate the value of a stone by a mere glance. Unnaturally gifted, they all thought it was as good as done that she will continue the family business.

Which is why her mother fainted and her father almost choked on his food when she announced to them at dinner that she wants to study at a university in Tokyo. When asked why, she just shrugged.

They never realized she considered other possibilities too. They were so sure she will inherit the job, they failed to notice her will to explore and learn. Having enough, she decided to take her life in her own hands.  Her parents were so insistent about this issue, but she already made her mind.

She pinched the bridge of her nose.

“Father, we already talked about this. I want to be on my own. I want to be independent.”

“Rin, your mother and I want only the best for you.”

“Yes, I know. But you want me to stay in this town, continue the family business, and marry a nice guy from a wealthy family.” She suddenly realized how cliché her family was. It bothered her a lot. “This university is one of the best, father. Surely, you wouldn’t deny your daughter to have top notch education now, would you?”

Tokiomi Tohsaka bit his lip. Of course he loved his daughter, but at times like these, he regretted all that private tutoring he allowed. Rin was very stubborn. When she frowns and crosses her arms just like in this instance, she very much resembled her mother. He relaxed a bit and smiled kindly. Of course, as soon as she would open her mouth, it was another story. _You are right, Aoi, she really is just like me when she talks; a true Tohsaka._ He replaced his smile with a frown when Rin raised her gaze onto him.

He knew that she was about to go into a long speech, probably very similar to the many he gave her while she was growing up. Tokiomi sat on her bed and patted the spot next to him for her to sit down too.

“Rin, I stand by what I said – I only want the best for you.” He raised his hand when she opened her mouth to reply. “Please, allow me to continue. Everything we did so far was for you. I worked hard, knowing that one day you will succeed me, knowing that one day you will continue the business that was in our family for generations.” He sighed and looked down at his hands. “However, I knew from the start this isn’t what you wanted.”

“No, Father, you’re wrong.” Rin said suddenly. “I want to continue, I really do. But not yet; I want to see the world first, and if that world is even only the best university in our country, then it’s fine by me.”

“I see.” He chuckled. “You want to live full life, huh.”

“At least a little, I mean, at least before I come back and crush all the competitors, just like you taught me.” She grinned.

“I see. Rin, it is fine by me, although your mother will cry so much.”

She crawled into his lap, just as she used to do it when she was a little girl. Back then she would just observe how he worked with gems, sorting them or calculating the price. It was calming to her. Even when she became too big to fit comfortably there, she would still from time to time do it. It was like a protective barrier over her; it made her feel safe.

Tokiomi patted her head lovingly and sighed.

“But which other university will accept you now? The entrance exams are all over and you would have to wait another y-“

“No I wouldn’t.” She said, suddenly moving away from him. She lowered her gaze. “Father, I am sorry, but…” Rin managed to glance at him for an instant. He was frowning, and that was never a good sign in her experience. “Father, please don’t get mad at me, but I applied for multiple universities. The letter of acceptance should be coming any time soon.”

Tokiomi stared at her. Even though he wanted to be angry at her, he couldn’t hide how impressed he was.

She bit her lip and started pacing around the room. “See, I knew you would get mad at me! I know, I shouldn’t have done it without your knowing, but I did it, okay? It’s done. There’s nothing to-“

Rin stopped when she met her father’s gaze. For the first time in ages, he was looking at her not as someone who will inherit the jewelry business, but as a father looking at his daughter. The expression was so foreign to her; she averted her gaze, feeling like she was five year old again.

“Rin, it is your life. Whatever you do I will always love you.” He continued in a more serious tone. “Moreover, if you think going there will improve your experience, then who am I to say no.”

Hearing this, Rin finally relaxed and hugged her father.

“Thanks, dad, I will make you proud. Just, never make that face again, okay? It’s creepy.”

“Only if you don’t call me dad. That doesn’t sound right.”

She chuckled. “It’s a deal.”

There was a moment of silence before Tokiomi shook his head, utterly defeated, and left Rin’s room mumbling something that sounded to her similar to “this independence stuff is beyond me.” The Tohsaka heir grinned.

* * *

Couple of days later, Rin got accepted into one of the best universities. However, her happiness greatly diminished when she saw her mother, with tears in her eyes, congratulating her on her success.

“I knew you would get accepted, Rin.” She said, hugging her tightly.

“Thank you, Mother.” Rin said, leaning into her mother’s embrace and she felt the hug tighten. “Mother, you can let go of me now.”

They stood like that for several moments, until Tokiomi cleared his throat.

“Aoi, really, you can let go of her, she isn’t going anywhere yet.” He tried to lighten the situation.

Aoi Tohsaka suddenly let go and turned around to face her husband. “But, dear, where is she going to live? How is she going to live all alone there? Surely someone must go with her.”

“Mother, I will be fine.” Rin smiled. “Remember, I can cook; I can do most of the chores around the house. You know I don’t allow anyone into my room.”

“Oh, that is true.” Aoi sighed deeply. “But, Rin, please, let me find you an apartment. I know there are some of my relatives-“

“No.”

The words Tokiomi said took both women by surprise. They both looked at him, Aoi confused, and Rin surprised.

“Rin, you said you want independence, right?”

“Y-yes, that is right.” She said, frowning slightly. _Just where is he going with this?_

“I have decided. You are to find an apartment by yourself. We will not help.” He took his favorite ink pen from his front pocket and a piece of paper from the shelf. “This is the sum of money you will get every month; no negotiations. You must learn that money doesn’t grow on trees. Anyway, with this amount, you will pay for the apartment, and everything else, except the university. Are we clear on that?”

“Father, I liked you a bit more yesterday” she murmured to herself, and then continued in louder voice. “Yes, Father, do not worry, I already have an apartment that is very cheap. I looked into some and decided.” Rin glanced at the paper and felt her blood leaving her face. _This amount is too small! Father, are you trying to teach me independence, or destroy me? Is this some kind of iron will test? How does anyone survive with this amount of money?! What happened to our beautiful moment last night?_

“Now, wait, dear,” Aoi looked at the paper, too. “This is too little. You can’t expect her to survive just with this. I won’t let you ruin my child.” _Yes, Mother, the voice of reason, thank you so much._

“Aoi, she’s a Tohsaka. Moreover, she is our child; she can do anything she puts her mind into. Just look, she got accepted into university she wanted.”

“Well that is true, but, Tokiomi, you’re so cruel.” She said, jabbing a finger into his chest. “I don’t agree with this.”

“Mother, it’s okay. He is right. I can do it.” Rin said firmly.

“But Rin…” Aoi pleaded.

“Do not worry, Mother, I can do it.” This time, she said it more confidently.

Tokiomi smiled. _Now that is the Tohsaka I wanted to see._

 

*   *   *

Rin was passing through her room, murmuring to herself. It has been three hours since she had this talk with her father, but the situation was critical. She lied about the apartment. She didn’t have one. Truth to be told, she never searched for an apartment in her life. The sheer thought scared her. Since she has said she wants independence, her parents agreed on a small sum of allowance, and to pay for the apartment. Unfortunately, in the rush, she declined the apartment, being left with only that small allowance.

“This won’t cover one apartment. I may have to live with someone else.”

“Nee-san, that is not such a bad thing, you know. I mean, plenty of people have roommates, you know.”

Rin’s younger sister, Sakura, was trying to calm the girl down, smiling awkwardly. She couldn’t hide her own nervousness, unfortunately, which made Rin more agitated and bringing her to the verge of panic.

Rin would have to live with a complete stranger.

This made Rin shudder. It was unimaginable to her that she lives in an apartment with someone else. Being an heir to Tohsaka family, she was pampered and allowed everything. Her own room was very big, and she could sometimes go through whole house without encountering a living soul. Granted, her father was mostly in the study room or overseeing business and her mother in the garden. Her sister spent much time at the Emiya residence, having closer relationship, with Rin’s classmate, Shirou. The maids were trained to be invisible and silent, but there at the snap of the fingers.

She was looking to four years of pure hell, unless she admitted defeat.

“I’d rather die than admit he was right”, she thought, punching a pillow.

Sakura chuckled a bit. “Nee-san, that is a bit dramatic, don’t you think? Also, it’s not like you’ll be alone, right?”

“Well, that is true, there’s bound to be at least someone who goes to same place as me…” Rin mused for a bit.

Sakura looked at the clock. It was two in the morning. She stood up and patted Rin on the shoulder, with an awkward smile still on her face.

“Maybe you should sleep for now. It will all be better in the morning.”

Rin slumped onto the bed, after biding good night to her sister. Hoping Sakura is right, she closed her eyes under the bed sheet.

* * *

“This does not look better. Tell me, Mitsuzuri-san, how does this sound that good to you?” Rin said, banging her head on the table so hard the cup in front of her bounced slightly.

That morning, Rin decided to call up her best friend, Ayako Mitsuzuri, in hopes to find a way to solve this situation. The girls formed a very unusual friendship during their third year of high school.  Tomboyish at first glance, Ayako Mitsuzuri would often surprise people around her with the gracefulness that came from her spending years engrossed in kendo practice and then archery in high school. The competitive spirit of both girls was the foundation for the friendship between the two most popular girls in the school back then. Unfortunately for Rin, her friend was a lot looser, and just delighted at the prospect of Rin living with a roommate.

“Oh come on, Tohsaka! It is always fun living with someone else, especially in college. Who knows, maybe you find a hot roommate.” Ayako said in sing-song voice.

“Ha-ha.”

“Well, if it makes your life easier, we’re going to the same college. I got accepted, too.”

“Oh you did!” Rin shouted. “Then, will you-“

“No can do, sorry. I found the apartment already and everything is settled. You were too late.”

“Spoilsport.” Rin put her forehead on the table, sighing deeply. After watching her for couple of moments, Ayako decided to bring her friend out of the abyss she threw herself into.

“You know, I think I may help you.” Mitsuzuri put one hand up, seeing how Rin raised her head so fast. “Now, before you ask, they told me to not really spread this around too much, but a friend of a friend of a friend, said their friend needs a roommate. They are decent, well-mannered, and I am pretty sure you’d get along with them.”

Rin pondered the situation. This was surprisingly tempting to take. Mitsuzuri continued.

“With money you are left with, you can easily afford to live in this place. It’s ten minutes by foot from the university, and the place is huge! Check out the pics!”

Rin cast a look at her friend’s phone. As the girl said, this apartment was enormous. It was a one story house, with a big hallway, even bigger living room, two bedrooms both with king sized beds, kitchen and dining room in one and a huge terrace outside. A big garden had a table set and a large swing set. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously.

“What’s the catch?”

“There is none.” Mitsuzuri grinned, failing to appear innocent.

Rin continued to stare at Ayako.

“Then, if there’s no catch, why don’t you live there?”

“Fine, I’ll tell you!” Mitsuzuri sounded pretty dejected. It was clear she wanted this apartment. “The person living there declined me. They said they want a person who can cook. You know how bad I am at cooking! Help me learn how to cook in a week!”

“Who is this person, anyway?”

“Honestly, I have no idea. I never met them in my life. Whole interaction went through my friend—don’t bother, I won’t tell you who that is. Anyway, I know so little about them, but I got assured they are totally okay.”

“I’ll think about it” Rin said, taking the little note on which the phone number was written. “If I don’t’ find another apartment in the meantime, I will contact them, okay?”

“That’s fine by me. It seems they are in a hurry to find a roommate, too.” Mitsuzuri said, finishing her ice cream. “Okay, now I got to go. I promised Sakura I’ll go with her to visit the archery club.” She sighed loudly. “I’m leaving in two days. I am so going to miss this place.”

“Oh, you’re leaving so soon.”  Rin sighed. “Well, have a nice trip then, and tell Sakura we’re having big dinner today at home, so she should come home.”

“Yes, yes. Anyway, see you at the entrance ceremony, if not earlier!”

As Mitsuzuri left, Rin continued to drink her tea in peace. She stared at the paper her friend left her.

“A total mystery, huh…”

* * *

The moment Mitsuzuri turned around the block she took her phone out and dialed a number.

“Hey, it’s Ayako! How have you been doing? Oh, good! Listen, you won’t believe this, but I think I found someone who’s willing to live with your friend.”

_Really? That’s awesome!_

“I know. Trust me, she’ll accept it!”`       

_Oh, by the way, who is it?_

“It’s our cute little Rin-chan!”

_You have got to be kidding me._

“Nope, not at all. She said she got into trouble with her parents and is looking for a place to live.”

_Well, I’ll tell my friend he’s to be expecting his new roommate in a week. Wait, you told her he’s a guy, right?_

“I may or may have not have left that information out.”

_Ayako-san, what if she declines now?_

“Trust me, she won’t. She practically fell in love with the king sized bed on first sight.”

_Well, I hope you’re right. Anyway, I got to go now and tell the good news. Thanks a lot for all your help._

“Ah, it was no problem. It’s the least I can do. If I can’t then the only worthy person of that apartment is our princess, Tohsaka Rin.”

_Heh, that is certainly true._

* * *

After one very tiring, unsuccessful search, Tohsaka Rin was sitting on her bed. Every number she called ended up with no results. It frustrated her to no end. Everyone was so rude and offering high prices for very small apartments and she just had it enough.

“This is all Mitsuzuri-san’s fault!” She said rubbing her eyes.

Ever since she saw that apartment, she has raised her already high standards. Every apartment had something that put her off – small beds, small kitchen, too far from the college. Everything was falling apart.

She glanced at the number on the paper. It’s been three days; maybe it’s time to come to terms with the fact she failed, and just call this number. The phone rang at least 5 times, and finally someone picked up.

“Hello?” a soft, female voice spoke from the other side of the line.

Suddenly changing her mind, Tohsaka hung up. Everything about this apartment was very suspicious to her. Why was it so cheap? The owner was mysterious and didn’t want to reveal themselves. This was all sounding like a good horror movie to her. Yet, the pictures she saw showed that it was very nice place, and there is no chance Mitsuzuri would direct her to a dangerous person. They did love to set pranks to each other but those were always mostly harmless. She got up and took her coat; a nice walk will do.

Sitting in the park Rin was silently drinking water from a bottle. It really cleared her head. Calling that number would mean Mitsuzuri won, and Rin wanted that the least. She heard someone approaching so she turned her head in the direction of the footsteps.

“Yo, Tohsaka, what are you doing here?”

“Oh, Emiya-kun, what a surprise.” She said in her usual greeting tone. Emiya Shirou was one of the few friends, apart from Mitsuzuri, who hung out with her without being intimidated by the Tohsaka name. She liked him very much, but his insistency to help everyone in need, and easygoing attitude sometimes made her wonder if he is actually an idiot when it comes to social skills.

“Nothing, to be honest, I was just going for a walk” Shirou shrugged.

“Same here. Come, sit with me” Rin patted the bench she was sitting on.

She always enjoyed Shirou’s company. He often helped her whenever she was stuck. They had a very unusual friendship. At school, they would act as they didn’t know each other, but that was only because there never was an opportunity to hang around. Both had their circle of friends and were actually very content at keeping it that way. Outside school was a different matter. She helped him with his homework, and his father was very approving of her. They’d often cook together and each taught the other new culinary skills every week.

“So, what seems to be bothering you, Tohsaka?”

“Figures. You always knew when something was wrong with me. You are really perceptive, Emiya-kun.” She chuckled. “Makes me wonder why you never see important things.”

“I spend a lot of time with you and Sakura. I know when you put up a wall.”

“Well, that is true. Anyway, this is a personal matter, and I don’t think you can help me, Emiya-kun. But I am grateful for you being worried about me.” She smiled at him. It suddenly struck her how much she will miss him when she goes away.

They were silent for couple of minutes.

“I will miss you, Tohsaka. It’s not going to be the same when you leave.”

“Yeah,” she sighed. “Remember when we all got into that argument who cooks the best?”

“Oh yeah, Sakura can be so competitive; and you too.” Shirou grinned.

“Yeah. Your father totally cheated though.”

“Heh, true. Saying my cooking is the best just because I’m his son…”

“And then changing it to Sakura, because she was on the verge of crying”

“What can you do, he wants everyone to be happy.” Shirou shrugged. “That old man is incredibly weak when it comes to girly tears.”

They both laughed and then went silent once again. Shirou stood up.

“You know, for the record, I thought you cooked a better meal.”

“Huh?”

“And whatever is bothering you, I think you just need to gather the courage and face the problem head on. Be the stubborn Tohsaka that I know you are.” He then changed his expression to a serious one, as if imitating her father. “The heir of the Tohsaka family must know no fear and accept everything with grace.”

Rin giggled and then punched him in the arm.

“My father would kill you if he saw that impression.”

“Yes I know, and I need to ask you not to tell him about it, you know? Well, anyway, I hope I see you some time again. It was fun spending these two years with you.”

“Same.” She smiled at him and offered him her hand. He looked a bit surprised but then smiled too, and shook her hand.

When Shirou left, Rin stood up and went home. He was right; she should just swallow her pride gracefully and make the call.

Someone on the other side of the line finally picked up. It was the same female voice.

“Hello?”

“Ah yes, this is Tohsaka Rin, I am calling about the apartment-“

“Oh, that is wonderful. But the person living here said that I should just give you the number and you can text them, if that is alright?”

“What, so I can’t even speak with them?” Rin asked, surprised.

“Well, they are kind of busy, you know. Being outside whole day and working late in the evening. Text messaging is fine; you wouldn’t want to disturb them too much now?”

“Yes it’s fine, of course.” She stuttered, utterly confused. _Just how peculiar are they? What did you get me into, Mitsuzuri?_

* * *

“There are 5 towels in the bag, and I also told Gertrude to pack you your favorite sweater, and that hideous scarf you like so much.” Aoi was barely trying to suppress her tears as she hugged her daughter goodbye.

“That scarf was a gift from Emiya-kun.” Rin berated her mother. That was a an odd thing about her mother – she liked Emiya Shirou, but never got over that scarf. It was like a hideous abomination to her and she always pretended to faint whenever Rin wore it. Unfortunately for Aoi, Rin was very fond of it, especially since she could wrap it at least three times around her neck.

“Yes, I know, but… Anyway,” she lowered her voice just so Rin could hear her, “I also told her to pack Mr Pip, too.”

“Mom, I haven’t played with it for ten years now.” Rin felt her cheeks heat in embarrassment but tightened her arms around her. “Thank you.” She whispered.

Rin turned to her father now, as Aoi moved away, wiping tears with a kerchief. Tokiomi looked at her.

“Rin.”

“Father.”

He took both of her hands and she felt something cold and heavy in them. “Good luck,” he said turning around and disappearing into the house.

Finally, Rin reached her sister, who was smiling proudly. Rin felt her chest tighten once again, as she saw her younger sister being so happy for her. She knew Sakura will miss her just as much as Rin will miss her, and yet she always pressed on, not letting anyone know what is really happening inside of her.

“Sakura, take care of Emiya-kun for me, okay?” Rin said, hugging her sister. “And study hard, and make me proud. Continue the tradition of Tohsaka family in the school.”

“Of course, Nee-san. I will make life living hell for the student council president.” Sakura smiled.

Rin laughed. “No, not that much. Poor Issei, he really went through hell…”

The sisters parted, and while they were both smiling, a hint of sadness was glinting in their eyes.

As Rin sat in the car that would drive her to the train station, she looked at the item in her hand. It was a big, red pendant in the shape of the heart, dangling on a chain. She never saw it before, which surprised her, because she recognized this was her father’s work, and she knew all of his gems. Or, at least she thought she knew.

“I guess that’s your way of showing feelings, huh.” She said, smiling fondly at the pendant, before putting it in her pocket.

*  *  *

Rin exited the train. Her travelling bag looked ridiculously heavy, but she picked it up with ease. Even though she was spoiled, she always thought that she should be physically strong and not depend on others. That looked unusual to her parents, but she was so persistent, they ultimately paid her for cooking classes, self-defense classes, piano classes, and many, many more. At this point, though, Rin totally wished there was a class on human communication.

She got in touch with her future roommate and they decided that today, of all days, she’s going to visit the apartment and see it in person. The person wasn’t that talkative and usually said things like “okay” and “works for me”. _They must be really busy_ , she thought as she looked at the map to see where she should go.

When she reached the place she looked away from the map. The small wooden gate and a narrow path through the garden gave a feeling of coziness. She smiled and pressed the ring button, which didn’t work. _Well, it’s not like I was actually expecting anything else._ Sighing, she entered through the gate and reached the door.

She knocked. No answer. She tried again, but again, no answer.

“Can it be I mixed the time?” she wondered.

As she was preparing to knock once more, the door abruptly opened. Her face met with a black, wrinkled shirt and it took her couple of moments to realize that it was actually a person standing in front of her. Slightly shaking her head to pull herself together, she raised her gaze to look at their face. The man was looking above her, or more like squinting. Bags under his eyes and the disheveled white hair were a clear sign that she woke him up. _Did he even notice me?_ She wanted to call out to him, but he closed his eyes. It was a bit amusing to watch him, so disoriented, try to grasp the situation. However, before she could react even a bit, he closed the door in her face.

“Ugh, this is so ridiculous, you’re so annoying!” Now furious, she knocked once again. The guy opened the door again, looking above her once again, and then he slowly lowered his gaze until noticing her.

“Oh, I should’ve looked a bit lower.” He said, clearly surprised.


	2. The Obnoxious Roommate

_A guy! No one told me my roommate is a guy! Damn you, Mitsuzuri, it’s your entire fault!_

They both continued to stare at each other, saying nothing. Rin was too shocked from the realization her roommate is a guy, while the other person was just staring through her, probably trying to get the gears in his head to start working; it was very obvious the doorbell woke him up. _I need to say something. I need to say “Hello.”_

“Erm, your shirt is all… wrinkled up.” The words came out of her mouth before she could stop them.

 Finally, it seemed like a switch turned on in his head and his eyes that were looking through her, suddenly focused on Rin. He cleared his throat and moved from the doorway.

“Please come inside.” He was watching her with curiosity and amusement.

Rin entered the house reluctantly. Still cursing Mitsuzuri in her mind, she took off her coat and placed it on a hanger in the hallway; there was also a wardrobe that was probably used for coats and a shoe rack, which, from what she could notice by just a glance, had only one pair of military boots and a pair of shoes. _Ah, the many perks of being a man_ , she thought, remembering how her mother constantly criticized her father for not having an interest in having a variety of clothes.  As she entered the living room, she was surprised by the sheer size of the room. A couch that was covered with a leisurely thrown blanket and two armchairs surrounded a neat small coffee table. Three dismantled toasters of different size were on the coffee table, and there was a cup of tea on the floor next to the couch. The big window was covered by heavy red curtains not letting the light get in. Right next to it was a huge bookshelf filled with plenty of books in various languages. In the corner were a single armchair and a lamp; and in the far-away corner of the room was an old fashioned TV which was, as Rin concluded, probably supposed to be put to face the couch, but right now was out of order.

She looked at the blanket once again and frowned.

“Did you sleep in the living room?”

“I may have dozed off in the middle of the night.” He commented off-handedly. “To be honest, I forgot you were coming today.”

“Whoa, there’s a fireplace?” Rin was still looking around inspecting the living room, and to her delight saw a big fireplace facing the couch.

“Mhm, it’s pretty neat, actually.” He said.

It seemed he was half-heartedly trying to clean up the coffee table, but got distracted by one particular piece and was now inspecting it. Rin cleared her throat and he finally looked at her again. Turning around he accidentally kicked the tea cup and watched as the carpet soaked in the cold tea.

“In my defense, that was not supposed to be there.” He noted, pointing at the cup.

“In my defense, people should sleep in their rooms.”

“In my defense, I dozed off.”

“In my defense, we agreed yesterday on me coming here. In my defense, I left you three messages on your phone. _In my defense_ I think people should not procrastinate on their assignments.” Rin said, smirking and raising her face as if daring him to reply.

However, he didn’t notice it, having kneeled next to the couch, searching beneath it. Finally, he found his phone.

“Oh look, I really do have three messages,” he said, checking the device.

He sighed. Rin watched him a bit more before he mumbled something and went to the kitchen. She could hear something like “pain in the ass” and “you’re so lucky”. She followed him into the kitchen.

The kitchen was clean almost to a fault. _Hmmm, maybe he isn’t a slob_ , she thought as she slowly traced her fingers across the dining table. It was similar to the table at home, but a lot smaller. A small vase with a single flower was placed on it, giving the kitchen an overall cozy look. It was also extremely obvious this was done by the person who answered the phone when Rin called.

The kitchen was also fully stacked with various appliances and dishes, all showing signs of being used. This man was probably a skilled cook or knew someone who is. It was a very big contrast to his first impression, but one thing was sure to Rin – this person didn’t care about first impressions. Rin contemplated whether to go back to the living room and finally settled on the chair in the kitchen. He was washing the cup, his back turned at her. Then he looked at her and opened the kitchen cabinet.

“Tea? Coffee?” He asked.

“Tea, thank you.” She said.

He pondered a bit and then took the farthest box in the cabinet. As he was preparing it, she didn’t say a thing. All his movements were natural. It was as if he was still not fully awake and making tea relying on pure instinct. _It looks like he does this every day_ , she thought. It was a peaceful scene and she found herself drifting away cozily. The cup placed in front of her snapped her out of it.

“Oh, thank you.” She took a sip and just stared in disbelief. This was the best tea she ever tasted. It was also her favorite tea, but to tell the truth, she didn’t expect this guy to brew it so well.

He raised an eyebrow.

“This is surprisingly good” She admitted.

“Surprisingly?” He raised an eyebrow.

“Well yeah,” she blushed, “I didn’t think—“

“I don’t look like a guy who can make a good cup of tea?”

“Yes.” She said, now feeling the heat spreading all over her face.

“Life is full of surprises, young lady. Better not take people at hearts value.”

“Oh, I just realized…”

“That you haven’t told me your name? Yes, I think proper introduction should have happened before I made the tea, but it’s still not late.”

She put down her cup and extended her arm.

“I’m Rin. Tohsaka Rin.”

He took her hand and shook it with a firm grip. Then he grinned.

“Too formal.”

“What?”

“You’re too formal. I hate formalities. You can call me Archer, and I’ll call you Rin.”

“Tohsaka.”

“Yes…” he dismissed it with a wave of his hand. “Anyway, what do you think of the apartment? Does it suit your needs?”

“Yes, actually. I thought it would be more… dirty.”

The man looked at her and sighed.

“Honestly, you should stop taking people at hearts value.”

“I couldn’t help it, all that mess in the living room…”

“You caught me at a bad time. I bet that soon, you’ll be in worse state than what you encountered me in. Anyway, let me show you the bedrooms, Rin.”

“Tohsaka.”

As they exited the kitchen, he showed her two doors.

“The one on the right is mine, but I bear no attachments to any room. So, if you like that one, you can take it.”

She peeked into the room. She couldn’t say it was messy. Far from it; there wasn’t a speck of dust in it, as it was with other rooms. Still, it felt crowded. There was a bunch of, well she couldn’t call it anything else but junk. Broken clocks, speakers, fans, and a lot of other stuff were placed in neat piles all around the room. Now curious, Rin leaned a bit more into the room and caught sight of a big desk that was covered in tools and one huge box.

This was a problem. If she were to live here, she would have loved to take this room. It was in a very good spot, and the large window provided lots of sunlight. However, moving all this stuff to other room is a tedious job. She sighed and pointed to the room on her left.

“I’m taking this one.”

“Suit yourself,” he shrugged. “Anyway, make yourself at home. I’ll leave you alone for now, so you can get a good rest, and I need to finish what I started last night.”

 She nodded as he closed the door, leaving her alone in the room. Turning around the room, she concluded it was maybe even better than the other one. She pulled the white curtains to open the window a bit.

The room was basically empty of all the trinkets, but on couple of stands she would find some stuff the previous tenants left – a music box, a romance novel, a brush, and a handkerchief with initials B.F.M were just some of the spoils. She put everything except the book in one drawer just as she heard a knock on the door. She opened it to see Archer standing there with her bag.

“I guess you need this as well.” He said lifting it a bit.

“Y-yes, thank you. Erm, I was about to get them myself…” She said, surprised at this sudden generosity.

“No, it’s fine, although it is quite heavy. You could have texted me or something to pick you up from the station.”

“I texted you three times that I’m coming and it was still a surprise.”

“Oh, that’s right. Well, in any case, I’ll leave you now to your packing.”

“But I still haven’t said I’ll live here, you know,” she said. Indeed, her plan was to sleep at Mitsuzuri’s place or a hotel that evening.

He just chuckled a bit and ignored the comment, nudging her with the bag.

She took the bag and closed the door, placing it on the floor just beside the bed she sat on. It was soft and comfortable. She lied on it. Closing her eyes she sighed deeply and rolled to her side.

“He is a nice guy, kind of.”

* * *

When Rin woke up it was already dark. She yawned and stretched. It was just like at home and she felt her energy replenished. As she exited the room, a smell of cooking assaulted her senses. She entered the kitchen just in time to see Archer placing two plates on the dining table.

“Oh, you’re awake. I was just about to come wake you up.”

“I— you cooked for both of us?”

“Yes, I thought you’d be hungry. You haven’t eaten whole day, right?”

“N-no, I’m not hungry, what gave you that idea?” She stuttered, but her stomach betrayed her. Archer raised an eyebrow. “In any case, I can cook by myself,” she continued, “I don’t need you to cook for me.”

“Hmmm, consider this as a welcome dinner then. And I promise I won’t cook for you in the future.” He grinned. “I also promise I won’t make you tea anymore.”

“Hey, wait, I—“ she sighed and gave up. “Fine, I’ll eat. What did you make?”

“Chicken with rice and miso soup. Is that fine with you?”

“Perfectly fine.”

She sat on the chair and watched him as he served the dinner. She took a bite and her eyes widened in surprise. This guy was a really good cook.

“Heh.”

“What?”

“Nothing.”

“Tell me now. What did you do? Did you put something in this? Oh god, it’s drugs.” She said, pushing the plate away from her

“No, wait,” a hint of alarm appeared in his voice. “It’s just that you made that face again.”

“Which face?”

“Your surprised face.” He relaxed quickly at the sign of evaded danger. “You’re still underestimating me, are you?”

“No I’m not!” She lied.

“In that case” he said, leaning across the table, his eyes narrowing, “are you a better cook than me, Tohsaka Rin?”

Rin almost choked on her food. This was something she did not expect. He offered her a glass of water without another word and she took it quickly. As coughing subsided she looked at him once again.

“What?”

“I’m just asking. I wonder if you make meals of the same quality as this one?”

She frowned. _If it’s a battle you want, a battle you will get._ She leaned across the table in the same way he did.

“Yes, I can cook. Sunday evening, seven o’clock. Cancel all your appointments.”

They continued to stare at each other, leaning across the table. Then suddenly he stood up.

“Okay. Then it’s settled.” He suddenly stopped and took out his phone. “No, wait, Sunday won’t do good, I have to do that thing… And yeah… Next weekend she probably works double shift, like always…”

Rin looked at him incredulously. “Are you chickening out?”

“No, I’m not, I just… I can’t find a free day.” He slumped in defeat. “Anyway, the meal is getting cold.”

“Oh right.”

They continued to eat in silence. When they finished, Archer just took the plates and put them in the sink. Rin watched him in silence as he washed the dishes. _He’s like a child_ , she thought. He started humming a song and she chuckled.

“Hm?” He turned his head slightly in her direction.

“Nothing.”

“And here I thought you finally decided about the apartment.” He sighed dramatically.

Rin stood up and took a cloth. Soon they were both standing next to each other doing the work together.

“Hey, Archer, can I ask you something?”

“Yes?”

“How did you get this apartment so cheap?”

“Heh, you think there’s some kind of awesome story behind it, do you?” He asked drying up his hands in the cloth Rin was holding. “Tea?”

“Yes, thank you.”

“So you do like the tea.” He smirked.

“Oh, shut up.”

“Anyway,” he continued as he put a teapot on fire, “it’s a very simple story. The landlady-“

“Oh, the one I talked to over the phone?” She interrupted him.

“No, that was my friend. I was gone for two days because of personal business, so I asked my friend to take my calls and take care of the house. _Anyway_ -“

“Oh, is she your girlfriend?”

“ _Anyway_! The landlady-“

“Is she pretty?”

“Are you doing this on purpose?” He was looking annoyed now.

“Yes.” She grinned. It was fun to tease him; he got upset by little things quite easily.

“Serves me right… Anyway—“

“We should move to the living room.” Rin said, absentmindedly making tea instead of him.

Soon, they were sitting in the living room, which, Rin noticed, was now quite clean, complete contrast to the morning mess.  She made herself comfortable on the couch, while Archer took one of the armchairs, staring at the tea.

“Ok, I am sorry for the thing before. Can you continue the story?”

“No.”

“Please?” She grinned.

“I don’t want to.” He said, irritated.

“Oh come on, you do want to.” Rin continued to tease him.

“I actually don’t.” He crossed his arms in defiance.

“But I do.”

He finally sighed, and she knew this was the end of the persuasion, which ended successfully.

“Fine. Okay, the landlady is a nice person. I was friends with her son, back when I was in the army.”

“The ar—“ Rin started, surprised that he was in army, but one look he cast her told her that he knew she would interrupt him and she closed her mouth. He continued.

“Anyway, we were in a really tight spot once and I was a bit more stubborn and saved her son’s life.  Years later, I came back to this town; yes I lived here before I went to army.” He said, preventing her, once again, to interrupt him. “That being said, I met them once in town and we caught up. They offered me a place to stay, and I soon found a job here. I guess I kind of settled. There, now you know my life story.”

“I have so many—“

“No further questions.”

Archer yawned. Stretching, he stood up.

“Well, I’m tired; I spent whole day working so I guess I’ll call it a day for now. It was nice meeting you, Rin.”

“Tohsaka.”

“Heh, good night.”

She nodded and continued sipping her tea. The living room was quite cozy. There was no trace of today’s mess, or the spilled tea. She used the time to reflect on the day. From the beginning until the end it was very eventful. She had so many questions. Of all the things to happen, she never expected to be roommates with a guy, and what’s worse, he wasn’t even a student. However, he was a nice guy, when he wanted to be, which meant not all the time. It wasn’t like he actively disliked talking about himself, but from the story he told her, he regarded it more like a nuisance and there was a big detachment in his tone of voice.

“Completely neutral.” She said to herself, rubbing her eyes.

There were many things she couldn’t determine about him; he was like a big walking contradiction. The first impression, the image of him being utterly messy, was a big lie which he proved quite quickly. She would place him in late twenties, if someone asked her about his age, but he was definitely immature and dramatic – something that made him appear younger than that.

“Oh well, I guess he won’t be that bad of a roommate, it’s not like I will have to interact with him more than supposed to.” She yawned and rubbed her eyes again.

The window was open slightly and fresh spring breeze would wake her up from time to time. She could see why Archer could doze off in the living room so easily. She stood up and carried both cups to the kitchen. After a nice bath, she was back in her room, under a blanket. She took out her phone and searched for Mitsuzuri in her phone book.

_“Coffee. Tomorrow morning.”_

_“sounds good to me, I’ll meet you at the school and we can go somewhere from there.”_

_“Good. I have so much to tell you.”_

* * *

“So? How is he?”

Mitsuzuri was eagerly waiting for any kind of information regarding the mysterious man who was now Tohsaka’s new roommate. Unfortunately for her, Rin was silently drinking her ice coffee.

“Oh come on, give me something. Don’t be such a bad friend.”

“Serves you right. Why didn’t you tell me he’s a guy?”

“Well, I was afraid you’d chicken out. And I wanted to know more about him. Is that a sin?”

“I think in some religions it is a sin.”

“Well, thank god I’m not religious then.” Mitsuzuri grinned.

“Do you even grasp the irony of what you just said?”

Rin sighed. In some way, she did owe to Mitsuzuri for all the help she did.

“Okay, he’s… unique. He reads a lot, I think. He is not messy, I think; honestly the whole apartment is so clean. He is also very childish and immature I think. But he’s a good guy. I think.”

“Oh, so I don’t have to beat him up. I was scared he was kind of a creep, you know.”

“Mitsuzuri, just what did you intend to do to me?”

“Nothing” Mitsuzuri said in sing-song voice. “Anyway, is that it? Is he a student, does he work?”

“I… think he works somewhere. Maybe – I didn’t ask him about it. Oh, but he was in the army.”

“Oh wow, an army guy. He must be really handsome.” Mitsuzuri said with a tone of regret.

“What is it with you and the ‘handsome’ and ‘hot’ adjectives?” Rin asked, now irritated.

“Ah, I would just be super pissed if I got rejected by a not so good looking guy, you know. It’s a thing of pride, Tohsaka, let it slide just once.

Rin shrugged. Truth to be told, she never looked at him properly, but now that she was remembering, he was quite pleasing for the eyes. In any case, she could’ve ended up with someone much, much worse.

“He’s okay, I guess. Anyway, classes start next week.”

“Nah, I don’t think so. People keep saying that entrance ceremony is next week and then we’ll get one week break. I am so happy about it. I need time to find another archery club here.”

“Oh, so you’re going to continue with archery?”

“Yes! Anyway, I heard that we have to sign up for Philosophy early. People say students keep fighting for that class, so I’d prefer if we actually manage to get there. The professor is very good, or so I heard.”

“Oh, that sounds interesting. I think I’m going to sign up for English, too. My mother keeps saying she wants to visit some relatives in London, which means I have to brush up on my English skills.”

“I heard that teacher is horrible though.”

“Well, if I study, I guess something will rub off on me, bad teacher or not.”

“Heh, good luck on that.”

“You too. You’re taking English, too.”

“What? Why me?”

“Because you hate losing to me.”

“Tsk. That is right. I’d probably end up with English, too.”

“Ah, in any case, I got to go now. Actually, would you accompany me? I have so many things to buy I could use some company.”

“Gladly, but I need to scout some other friends. You do know our track trio is in the city?”

“Oh? Say hello to them.”

“Yup, I will. Later, Tohsaka!”

Rin waved, walking in the opposite direction.

* * *

Tohsaka Rin glared at the person in front of her.  After her meeting with Mitsuzuri, she decided to stop at the local supermarket, which was on her way back. What she didn’t expect is to find her “roommate” in the same isle as her. Well, more like she collided with him, having been lost in her thoughts, which were, coincidentally, about the very same person. This didn’t help lighten her mood.

“Are you following me or something?”

“Yes. Yes I am.”

“Huh.”

“Well, whatever I told you, you’d still believe that, right? So I just decided to roll with it.”

“No, seriously, why are you here?”

“I’m buying groceries for tonight.”

“Oh.” She peeked into Archer’s shopping cart. It had some vegetables, orange juice and some salmon, carefully wrapped. “Okay, let’s pretend I believe you— Stop staring at my cart!”

Archer was trying to glance at her shopping cart, but Tohsaka put it skillfully behind her back. In the end he just gave up, and shrugged in a half-hearted apology.

“Hey, I have an idea! Let’s merge the carts.”

“You just want to take a peek.” She eyed him suspiciously.

“Guilty as charged.”

Rin glared at him some more. Then sighed and turned around.

“Well, see you at home.”

“Chocolate, water, some biscuits, milk…”

“Stop staring at my cart!”

Soon, they were standing in front of the cashier, their carts now one. Rin finally agreed to them using one cart, but only after she made Archer promise he won’t look at the cart even once. The cashier was casting glances at them, making disapproving noises every time she checked out an item, with a good reason – Archer was staring at the ceiling, completely exaggerating the promise he made to Rin . Rin felt uncomfortable a bit under the weight of the stare, but Archer thoroughly ignored it. When they got out he took all the bags and motioned towards the apartment. Rin tried to take her bags but he moved them out of her reach.

“I can carry my bags.” Rin said, trying to reach at least one. It was times like these when she wished she were taller.

“I know.”

“Then let me carry them.”

“Ah, I can’t let you do that.”

“What? Why?”

“Because you’re a young lady in my presence and I respect you.”

They continued to walk together. Halfway towards their destination Rin suddenly stopped and turned around to face her company.

“You… You just wanted to inspect my bags! Give me that!”

She charged towards him to take her bags, but he just raised his arms so the bags were out of her reach. No kicking or stomping made him lover his arms.

The rest of the walk to their apartment was a race for the groceries.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit of a delay but I am finally done. Enjoy the second chapter.


	3. Demonic Furniture

_“Today, you must be feeling excited about the great variety of possibilities regarding your university life. Certainly, using the major part of your university life for something other than your studies is a choice you can make. However, studying is more important than these things. To quote a passage from the Huainanzi: "Time is difficult to gain but easy to lose." Whenever I talk with University graduates working in different parts of the world, there is one thing everyone says in unison: "I wish I had studied harder during my university years."_

Smiles appeared on the faces of students in the hall. Most students were reacting kindly to the university dean; according to the senior years, he was very kind and always worked to solve the problems that were troubling students. However, even though he was a pleasant man there wasn’t much he could do; this didn’t really matter to students, who only wanted someone to hear their problems. That earned him his popularity and he became one of the most beloved people on the university.

Tohsaka Rin was sitting on the very edge of her chair, trying to get a better look of the stage. Unfortunately, in front of her sat two huge guys and blocked as much as half of the view. This annoyed her greatly. Luckily she could hear the speech.

“Hey, Tohsaka, what do you think of the university right now?”

Mitsuzuri, who was sitting right behind Rin, moved her chair a bit closer towards the row in front and leaned on her friend’s shoulder. Rin shot her an annoying glance.

“Shush, Mitsuzuri-san, you’ll make me miss the speech.”

“Sheesh,” Mitsuzuri shrugged, “it’s not like he is saying anything important, you know. It’s the usual things you hear everywhere.”

“I know; I just love speeches.”

“And people say I’m the weird one, heh” Mitsuzuri sighed as she sat back on her seat.

“You can learn a lot about people from their speeches and talk in general,” Rin said impatiently.

She was fidgeting around, trying to get a clear view of the stage. She could see some of the professors, but it irked her how awful the view was. Suddenly, Mitsuzuri let out a sound of surprise and tapped Tohsaka on the shoulder.

“Hey, look! See that small blonde woman there?” Mitsuzuri pointed to the stage.

“Yeah, what about her?” Rin asked, trying to get a better look of her. The woman was looking at her hands, as if not really sure what to do with them until a person next to her nudged her. She put her hands on the back and finally looked at the students. Rin could feel the change even so far away from her.

“Such confidence.” She couldn’t help but say that.

“Heh, I know right? I met her the other day.” Mitsuzuri said.

“Really?”

“Mhm, she’s a relative of Emiya, did you know that?”

“Eh? I didn’t know… He never mentioned her…” Rin turned towards Mitsuzuri completely forgetting about the speech.

“I wouldn’t know too, but I remember her when she visited him ten years ago.”

“Oh, you knew Emiya-kun even then?”

“No, but I passed next to their house and saw her; I never forget faces. Also, she isn’t really a person who you would forget, right?”

“That is true. So, how did it go when you met her the other day?”

“Oh, I was here to check out the building and she was exiting. I mentioned Emiya in passing and she overheard me. She started this long speech how he is a good boy and she only wants him to be happy and how she hasn’t visited him in ages, and then started asking me lots of questions about him.”

Rin snickered. The image of Mitsuzuri being pestered by that woman was strangely amusing. She looked back at the stage. Glancing over a very old professor, for whom people have said was Japanese History teacher, her gaze stopped at a very tall man, practically towering over everyone else. He wore plain dark clothes and a long coat that reached the ground. From where she sat, the man looked more like a priest, than a professor. She wanted to ask Mitsuzuri if she knew who that is but was suddenly overwhelmed by the feeling he would hear her and it would end badly. She opted for pointing at him discreetly.

Mitsuzuri nodded.

“Kirei Kotomine. Everybody warns me that he’s dangerous. Even my mother says he’s not to be messed with. It is said that he is basically in charge with everything that is happening here and that dean is just his puppet. Of course, those are rumors. When I asked my mother she said that he just looks like that. She also advised me to take his classes.”

“I see.” The name sounded familiar, as if she heard it sometime long ago. Rin did a double take. “Wait, your mother?”

“Yeah, my mother graduated here. God, Tohsaka, I told you this plenty of times. This is why I picked the university. It’s one of the best. Am I the only one who actually came here to study?”

“Oh, right, I forgot.”

“Anyway, look at that old teacher,” Mitsuzuri giggled. “I mean, he looks like he’s about to collapse. That’s professor Jun, I think. My mother says he’s as old as the university itself and has been here since long before she came.”

“Do you think, when he dies, maybe he’ll donate his skeleton to the university?” Tohsaka said, trying to suppress laughter. Soon, Mitsuzuri joined her.

The students started clapping and standing up.

“Oh, it seems the ceremony is over. Want to go have a coffee? There are quite a lot of people who’d like to talk to you.” Mitsuzuri asked Rin, who was fixing her bag on her shoulder.

“No, I’ll pass. But we’ll see each other during the week. Feel free to visit me whenever you want.” She smiled.

“Ooooooh, is your roommate going to be there?”

“I don’t even know if he’s at home,” Rin said exasperatedly. “And why does it matter?”

“It doesn’t. I seriously don’t know why you get nervous so much about it.”

“I-I don’t. It’s your imagination.” Rin stammered.

“Your face tells everything…” Mitsuzuri said in a sing-song voice.

“I don’t care about him. I told you that thousands of times!”

“Tohsaka, you’re so lucky not everyone knew in high school how much of a fun person to tease you are.” Ayako laughed. “Anyway, why are you rushing home?”

“Because I want to talk to my parents,” Rin replied. She hasn’t had a chance to call her parents ever since she moved in. Texts weren’t that much informative, and she was sure her parents were waiting for her to call; that’s why she decided to call them that day.

“Oh, I see. Well, have fun then.” Mitsuzuri then stopped as if she just got a brilliant idea that was meant to bring misery and fortune, making Rin shudder involuntarily. She turned to the other girl.

“Hey, Tohsaka.”

“Yes?” Rin replied, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible. She knew a storm was coming, but there was no way to stop it. Mitsuzuri was like that.

“Ask him about the tattoo.”

“My father?” Rin asked, confused.

“No, you idiot, your roommate. He was in the army, right? He must have a tattoo somewhere on his body. Maybe he’ll even show you if you’re lucky.” Mitsuzuri grinned wickedly.

Rin felt all her blood drain from her face.  It took her only couple of carefully chosen words directed at her to become incredibly flustered and Ayako Mitsuzuri loved exploiting that. Just what was her friend asking her to do? It was like a rock settled in her stomach; the mere thought of doing something like that was outrageous to Tohsaka Rin. Seeing Mitsuzuri’s grin made it even worse; that girl brought only trouble!

Rin counted quickly to ten and took a deep breath before addressing Mitsuzuri. Trying to sound as casual as she could, she was surprised by the high-pitched voice that left her mouth.

“I-I will do no such thing? Why would I? Ayako, that’s invading someone’s privacy. You know better than that. How dare you! Remind me why we’re friends! How would you feel if someone you barely knew asked you about something so personal? I don’t even know where he’d have it! It’s not appropriate and it’s invading someone’s privacy. Shame on-“

“I was just kidding, Tohsaka. Man, you really are touchy about this whole situation. It seems you still aren’t over it all. Anyway, bye-bye” Mitsuzuri waved once again and ran off to the exit. Rin could hear her laugh even as she exited the building.

As if acknowledging the continuation of the rivalry, which in Rin’s opinion didn’t really exist, Mitsuzuri made her first move.

“Seriously, who the hell does she think she is?” Rin wondered while walking back to the apartment. Still, her mind kept wandering in that direction.

_He was in the army, right? He must have a tattoo somewhere on his body._

“Well, he obviously has a tattoo on his arm. Of course I wouldn’t know about it. He never wears t-shirts.” She said to herself, as if explaining a perfectly logical solution to a math problem.

At this moment, she sought comfort in logic. Repeating to herself that the tattoo must be on the arm, she tried to stop thinking about all the other places he could have it on.

“There’s no harm in asking about a tattoo that’s on his arm. All he has to do is roll up his sleeves and that’s it. I’ll see it. Case solved.”

But what if it wasn’t on his arm? What if it was on his chest, for example, and she already stated she would like to see it?

“But, tattoos are personal. It is rude asking people about that.” She argued outloud.

That was the end. At least she thought it was.

Still, she couldn’t stop herself thinking about it even after she entered the apartment. She noticed a familiar figure slouching on the couch of the living room. Her roommate was reading a book, or to be more precise, dozing off on the couch with a book in his hand. Upon hearing the door to the living room close, he opened one eye and waved with the book in her direction.

“Welcome back. How was exam?”

“It was an entrance ceremony, not an exam,” Rin said, unconsciously scanning his body for possible places for the tattoo.

The unusual behavior did not escape him. He frowned.

“Right, I forgot they don’t do the entrance exam and ceremony at the same time.” He continued as nothing happened.

“They never did. It’s one of your delusions.” She put her bag on the table and fell into the armchair.

“Right.” Archer shrugged and went back to reading his book.

While pretending to rest, after a hard day, Rin continued staring at his arms trying hard to see if there’s anything dark under the fabric. Cursing the black color of the clothes that prevented her from observing, she changed her position, in hopes that some sunlight would solve the mystery.

He peeked couple of times in her direction and then closed the book with a snap. She jumped a bit at the sharp sound.

“Rin.”

She sat up straight, trying to act normally.

“Yes?”

“Is there something wrong?”

“N-no, why would you ask that?” She stammered.

“Then why are you looking at me like I have a ghost sitting on my shoulder?”  He stood up and looked down at his shirt. “Is there a stain or something?”

“No, there isn’t! I wasn’t looking at you!” She deliberately averted her gaze, but as soon as he settled back she returned to observing him. Suddenly he stood up again.

“Seriously, what’s wrong? What did I do? I really don’t see anything.” He checked his appearance once again.

It clearly annoyed him and Rin started feeling bad, but she really was curious. Of course the mere thought about asking him was something that frightened her. They knew each other for only a week, and didn’t even spend much time together, what with him being constantly out, and her being mostly in her room. “Hey I was wondering, but do you maybe have a tattoo, and could you show it” was not a question you ask people you barely know, no matter who they are. But she couldn’t get rid of a small voice in the back of her head telling her that there’s a high chance he would actually gladly answer that question.

Archer, getting more and more self-conscious, checked his appearance for the third time, and after coming to conclusion the reason she is staring at him is something completely different, his face formed into a smirk.

“Honestly, Rin, I never imagined you to be that sort of person.”

“Huh? What kind of person?” She was confused now.

“You know, the one who loves checking out people on the streets and such. I know I look amazing, but really, there are boundaries.” He continued teasing her.

“W-what? No, that is not- I would never-” She stuttered.

Archer sighed dramatically and shook his head. “Whatever should I do with you?”

Deciding he was done teasing he broke into a laughter. Rin’s whole face was now bright red, and as much as he enjoyed teasing her, this was where it ends. If he pushed even a bit further, she’d probably start crying.

To his surprise, she gathered herself very quickly and stood up.

“You know what? I think I’m going to go to my room and rest.”

She tried to get away, hitting the table with her leg in the process. Cursing and swearing she limped to her room and closed the door with a loud thud. He kept staring at the door.

“What the hell was that about?” He wondered before going back to his book.

In her room, Tohsaka Rin threw herself on the bed and took a pillow. She pressed it on her face until she couldn’t breathe. Gasping for air she threw it away and closed her eyes.

“Snap out of it, Tohsaka. This won’t do you good. You are going to see him at least once more today; focus!”

It didn’t help.

After an hour, she finally emerged from her room. Peeking through the door she noticed Archer was still in the living room, this time soundly sleeping, with the book on his chest. She sneaked up to him and kneeled beside the couch, trying not to wake him up.

Even though Rin knew she was lucky she got away with it the first time, her curiosity got the best of her. This was the best chance to check for the tattoo. She gingerly moved around his right arm, trying her best to notice it through the dark fabric. Unfortunately, there was not enough sunlight and moving the curtains would wake him up for sure. She took her phone out of the pocket and placed it close to his arm, trying to search again. That was a bad idea, she still couldn’t see anything. He stirred a bit in his sleep and she held her breath, trying not to move at all. He continued to sleep, oblivious to anything, and she exhaled slowly, relieved. Even though she wasn’t that sure, she declared the right arm free of tattoo.

“Which means it’s on the left arm.” She muttered.

The left arm was tucked neatly under Archer’s head and that position made it impossible for her to search for the tattoo at all. Luckily, at that moment, he moved into a more comfortable position and put that same arm on his chest. Slowly, she moved to the window and pulled the curtains just a bit away, careful not to make any noise. She looked at Archer; thankfully, he was still asleep. Leaning over him, she started inspecting his left arm.

At that moment, the book that was neatly placed on his chest fell to the ground with a loud sound. Woken up, Archer stood up fast and his head collided with something hard. Clutching his nose, he looked down at the book, and at Rin lying on the floor holding her hands over her forehead, hissing in pain.

“What the-- Rin, what do you think you’re doing?”

She was still clutching her forehead. The pain was almost gone, but she needed time to think of an excuse for being caught. Thinking fast, her eyes wandered to the tea stain next to the couch. She stood up.

“I just wanted to ask you if you’d like some tea that’s all.” Rin said, rubbing her forehead. She leaned and picked up the book.

“Here, you dropped-- ”

As she finally looked at him, her eyes widened in horror and the book fell from her hands. She took a step back and started looking around her, panic all over her body.

“What? What’s wrong?” Archer asked, still trying to wake up.

“You’re bleeding.” She said weakly, trying to sound calm. Her voice was shaking.

“Eh? I am?” He looked down to notice his shirt was red from the blood and it was now dripping on the floor. He quickly looked at his hand and realized his nose was bleeding heavily.

Cursing loudly he stood up trying to reach the bathroom, but tripped on the book that was on the floor, colliding with the table which claimed another victim that day.

He fell on the floor and didn’t move. Rin was standing a bit away, shaking and pale, panic cutting off her way of thinking. _Was he dead? Did she kill him? Should she call an ambulance?_ Even though all these questions were racing through her mind, her body just refused to move. Sure, she had experience with taking care of her mother, back when she was sick, but this was on another level.

After couple of moments, he raised his left arm, holding his right one tightly over his nose.

“Rin.”

She didn’t answer. He called her again, snapping his fingers to get her attention.

“Rin, go to the kitchen and bring me a bag of ice.”

Receiving instructions finally snapped her out of it, and it seemed she finally managed to move. Having been given orders was much easier than deciding by herself what to do. She nodded weakly and hurried to the kitchen.

“Oh, and a towel.” She heard him yell from the living room.

She grabbed two towels and ice from the freezer. She put the ice in one towel, dropping half of it on the floor in the process. Ignoring the mess, she ran back to Archer, who was still lying on the floor, as if he has given up on everything.

“Thanks.” He said wiping the blood from his face and shirt. “Well, the good thing is that it’s not broken. My nose, that is. My pride is a different thing.”

“What’s the bad news?” She asked, still upset, but managing to calm down now, seeing how he was okay. Seeing him so calm and rational had a sobering effect on her and she was now able to think, that is, as long as she didn’t look at him.

“The bad news is that this was all your fault and I demand to know what the hell you were doing.” He said, glaring at her while putting the towel with ice on his face. “Rin, I don’t like bleeding for no reason. You will tell me what you did, right now.”

“I... I just wanted to ask you if you want tea.”

Her excuse looked so much weaker, now that he was fully awake, covered with blood, and angry. She mustered all her courage and looked him straight into the eyes, all the while  praying he would buy this lie.

“And waking me up to ask for tea is a normal thing to do, instead of, I don’t know, drinking tea in your room alone and letting me wake up normally?”

“Well, I don’t like drinking tea alone.” The excuses were getting weaker and weaker but now that she started, she had to follow it through to the end.

At that moment, she suddenly felt a flash of anger course through her body and without even thinking she continued in a much angrier tone.

“And what is so bad about wanting to drink tea with someone?” She spread her arms in exasperation. “I am sorry I just wanted some tea time.” There was a lot of sarcasm in her tone now and her temper was like a short fuse that was about to burst. She kicked the book on the floor and after sliding through the living room it hit the opposite wall.

Rin turned her back to him. “Truth to be told, I regret even considering asking you, now that I know how rude you can become! It’s not like I really wanted to drink tea with you. I just thought to return the favor.”

He opened his mouth to point out how everything happened because she wanted just that, but closed it shut, deciding it was not worth it.

“I interrupted you sleeping; big deal! Get over it!” A heavy silence echoed through the room now. She turned back to him expectantly, waiting for him to snap back. But Archer was just staring at her indifferently. He didn’t rise to her provocation, not even acknowledging it. Rin started feeling like a child throwing a tantrum. _I can’t believe it! I can’t believe this guy made me so angry! React, damn it! Do something!_

He put down both towels. The bleeding has finally stopped. Although most of the blood was wiped out from his face, his shirt was covered in it, and some ended up on the carpet, too, right next to the tea stain. He shook his head exasperatedly and finally stood up.

“Rin, please don’t kick my books.” He sighed and put the ice towel back on his face. “You know what? I don’t’ even care at this point. My nose hurts, I’m covered in blood, and I just had a very rude awakening. God, it’s like front lines all over again.”

He stood up and took the towels. Casting a look at Rin he contemplated for a bit and finally decided. “I’ll take you up on your offer.”

“I’m sorry, you know.” Rin said, looking at the towels.

He dismissed the apology with a wave of his hand. Unbuttoning his shirt with one hand, bloody towels in other, he approached his room.

“You know, I liked this shirt.”

While Tohsaka was putting the kettle on, she heard him go to the bathroom and wash his face. When she came back to the living room, he was already standing there, inspecting the carpet, now wearing a black sweater.

“Maybe it’s time to buy a new one.”

“Oh.” It was all she could manage. She felt immense guilt about all that happened and it made her feel awkward in his presence. She was looking at the stains too, now. He threw his shirt and the towels on the carpet and moved the furniture. Then he started rolling it.

“Wait, what are you doing?” She asked, seeing how he rolled the shirt and the towels together with the carpet.

“What does it look like? I’m throwing it away.”

“No, wait, give it to me. I’ll get rid of them.”

“Rin, it’s blood. It won’t come off. Besides, you didn’t really look like a person who enjoys looking at blood.”

“It’s not the problem with blood, I saw worse things. It’s how it all happened. As for the stains, it will come off… Nana-chan taught me some tricks.” She said, taking the towels from the floor. She winced as she looked at the blood, remembering it was her fault. “I’ll just soak them in cold water, it should do the trick.”

Archer chuckled.

“Nana-chan?”

“It was my nanny.” Rin blushed. “She was the one who raised me, mostly. My parents were too busy. She taught me all the nifty tricks. Besides, if you throw it away like this, people would think you murdered someone.”

“Eh, not the worst thing people thought about me,” he shrugged.  Trying to suppress a laughter, he murmured again. “Nana-chan.”

“You got something against my nanny?” Rin snapped at him.

“Yes, a two-hour lecture about how she failed teaching you not to bother people while they sleep.” He glared at her and Rin closed her mouth instantly.

“Look, I said I’m sorry.” She began, when the kettle started whistling.

She took the clothes and threw them on the bathroom floor, making a mental note to put them in cold water as soon as the tea has been made. While she was making it, she heard the furniture being moved to its original position. When she came back with two cups of tea, Archer was back in his previous position, reading the book. She placed the cups on the table and sat in the armchair.

“So, what are you reading?”

“Is that what you were trying to find out?” He said.

“No, I told you, I wanted to-“

“Wake me up and ask me if I want to have tea with you. Well, I am, now. I’m also reading this book, which you lost the right to ask me about.” He finished for her, not taking his eyes from the book.

“Okay, fine, I get your point.”

“Good, glad it’s settled then.”

“Good.”

“Good.”

They sat in silence for couple of minutes. A loud vibrating noise made her jump for the second time that day. Archer put the book down and rolled from the couch so he could put a hand under it. He took out a phone and looked at it.

“You keep your phone under your couch?”

“Aren’t you?”

“What?”

“Just kidding, it must’ve ended up there while I was moving the couch around. Anyway, I’m going out.”

He stood up and walked over to the book Rin kicked. Some pages were hanging loosely. After a quick inspection, he placed the book back on the shelf. As he was putting his coat on, he turned towards the living room.

“Hey, I heard there’s been a series of burglary in the neighborhood. Lock the doors. On second thought, lock your room too. It might slow the burglar enough for police to come. Which I’d expect you’d call, right?”

“Ha, ha.” She replied sarcastically. “Don’t worry; I can take care of myself.”

“You can, but my belongings can’t.”

“Good to know you care more about objects than your own roommate.”

“The objects don’t make me bleed.”

Rin pointed silently at the table.

“Well, that table is just plain bloodthirsty. It’s a long story. I think it’s cursed. Anyway, I’m off.”

“Bye.” She said.

Rin heard the door close and the key turning. She slumped into the armchair, finally relaxing. Everything was over. Looking at the floor which was now without a carpet, she closed her eyes. This whole day was just a big disaster. Even though she wanted to blame her best friend, she knew it was all her fault. She let the words get into her head. But why did it affect her so much?

That’s because you just wanted to see a tattoo on a person, and not just in magazines and TV, she thought. Revising the events of today just made her uncomfortable and she shifted in the armchair. Mitsuzuri is probably now gloating at her home, maybe even calling Sakura to tell her what she did. She planned it all from the start.

It was easier to blame someone else than herself.

Rin yawned and went to the bookshelf, stretching in the meantime. She browsed through the shelves, looking for something easy to read, so she could relax her mind. She picked something that looked like a romance novel. While she wasn’t a fan of that genre at all, she acknowledged the beauty of its simplicity. It made her turn off her thoughts and not think which made it perfect for times like this. She started reading the first paragraph.

_She was born in a small village at the far north of England. Even though they didn’t have money, her family was one of the well known throughout the country. For centuries they were sending their first born to be Queen’s loyal guardian about whom no one ever knew. And that was Elisa’s duty now. The clan didn’t care about the gender; it was to be erased the moment the child would be old enough to become able to fight. Her earliest memories were of being trained to fight with a sword, kill with a dagger, and make deadly poisons. She was a living weapon, taught to kill on Queen’s orders._

_When she turned fifteen, she was to be instilled with a tattoo--_

_Rin threw the book out of the window._

* * *

The next morning, Rin was in front of the university, yawning. She was never a morning person, but she also hated postponing her obligations. She wanted to check her class schedule, which was supposed to be put up today.

Even though it was only nine in the morning, plenty of students were gathered in front of the notice board. Rin managed to push through the crowd and reach it. The time table didn’t show the classes by years, but the times when the teachers held the classes, number of the room they were in, and the consultation time.

As she was writing down the information that would be useful to her, she felt someone gently tap her on the shoulder. Rin turned around to see a familiar face and dropped her pen.

“Shirou! What are you doing here?” She said as she suddenly hugged the red-haired boy with as much force as she could.

“I missed you so much, you have no idea!” She said, finally letting go.

“Yo, Tohsaka.” The boy grinned now, his face a delicate shade of red. He averted his gaze, and scratched his nose.

Clearing his throat he continued in a slightly high-pitched voice. “This was all Sakura’s idea. ‘Don’t tell nee-san that you’re coming to the same university. Let’s surprise her’ is what she said.”

“Well it is a quite nice surprise.” Rin replied. “Wait, that means you laughed at me last time we saw each other!”

“Tohsaka, did I ever laugh at you? Anyway, I really wanted to call you, but I had quite a handful of stuff to do.” He said, and then continued in a more serious tone. “Mitsuzuri said you weren’t feeling well ever since you came here.”

“What? No, that’s not a problem. I was just getting used to the environment, you know.” Rin said. Shirou sighed.

“Tohsaka, you’re lying. I know when you do.” He said in a tone that was quite similar to the one her roommate used yesterday.

Remembering the events from the day before, Rin forcefully buried anything that had to do with her roommate, at least for the time being.

“Emiya-kun, I don’t think this is something you should be prying into,” she grinned and was quite pleased when she saw the boy visibly shudder.

“You should use your perceptiveness for greater good,” Rin said, “for example, for figuring out when to wisely shut up.” Like someone else.

Once again, she shut her mind.

“Anyway, change of topic, where are you living? If I knew you were coming here, we could’ve been roommates.” She grumbled miserably.

“I am living with an old friend of my father. She’s actually a teacher here.” Shirou replied fast.

Rin chuckled;  it always brought her pleasure to tease him. She may have been an easy one to tease, judging by what Mitsuzuri always said to her, but Emiya Shirou was on a whole new level.

“Oh, I know her. Mitsuzuri told me about her yesterday. Apparently she talked to…” Tohsaka trailed off as the realization struck her. “Oh I will kill her. She knew. She knew you were here. Damn it, I knew it was too suspicious she would talk to that woman just like that.” She hit the wall with her fist in frustration, while Shirou grinned.

“Anyway, this woman is strict but she can’t cook, and she has this giant sword which she uses for everything.” Shirou continued. “I never knew you could find so many uses for a sword. It’s mostly just for reaching high places though.”

“Well, would it be better if she were more like me?” It was Rin’s turn to grin this time.

“No, please no,” Shirou said, suddenly retreating couple of steps back. “One Tohsaka Rin is enough for this world.”

A bag flew in his direction and he wasn’t fast enough to dodge it. It hit him square in the face and thumped on the floor. He looked at Tohsaka, resignation all over his face.

“Don’t sulk, you deserved it.” Rin said, indifferently.

“By the way, Tohsaka,” Shirou was now looking at her, serious. “I heard you were the one who took the apartment Mitsuzuri told me about. How are you handling it?”

“It’s okay.” Rin admitted. It was the truth. Archer was a good roommate, and even though all those things happened, she had to admit that it was mostly her fault for all the bad stuff that was happening in the apartment. “I’m getting along with him, although I don’t think I am a very good person to live with.”

“I see. I heard some things from our track trio, but we never got into any details.” He said, and then continued more quietly at the bewildered look on her faces. “T-they told me that he used to kill people for fun and that even now he sometimes sneaks out of the house,” he now continued in a serious whisper, “that’s why there are so few beggars on the streets. No one misses them.”

Rin stared at Shirou for couple of moments in disbelief.

“Oh, Mitsuzuri, how many people did you inform about my living conditions,” she murmured pinching the nose of her bridge. “Emiya-kun, she said that to mess with me and all of you, and honestly, you’re sometimes too naïve. Do not worry, he’s a good guy and I can handle him. If things escalate.” Rin replied, taking a confident pose. “Remember that Emiya Shirou, for all his kendo training, never won a single match against me.”

“That’s because kendo isn’t for fighting,” Shirou muttered dejectedly.

“Emiya-kun, don’t trust everything Mitsuzuri tells you. It always brings bad luck to anyone who heeds her words” Rin said, suppressing a shudder. “Anyway, now that I have the timetable, I think it’s time for me to leave. I am hungry and in dire need of sleep. I hate waking up early.”

She wrapped her arms around Shirou. “Care to escort me back home?”

“I--” he stuttered.

Teasing him one final time, Rin chuckled and let go of him. Waving a goodbye, she walked out of the building, leaving Shirou standing there, confused.

All the way back, Rin felt a knot in her chest. Seeing Shirou reminded her of her home and, no matter how much she acted in front of others, she couldn’t lie to herself. She wanted to be back, in her bed, with her family, to walk those familiar streets. No matter if she was the one who chose this path for herself – at this point it felt like the price she paid was too great.

When she came back to her apartment, Rin leaned on the front door and took out her phone. She looked up a number in the phone and dialed it. After the third ring, a female voice picked up.

_Hello?_

“Hi, mom, it’s me.”

_Rin! Oh my goodness, we were so worried, you haven’t called at all since you moved there._

“Yes, I’m sorry… How are you, mom?”

_We’re fine, your father is working at the moment so he can’t talk to you, but every morning he tells me to say hello if you called. I wanted to call you but he said ‘no, she will call when she’s settled.’ You know how he is. Also, Rin, since when are you calling me ‘mom?’_

A laugh rang through the phone and Rin smiled gently.

“I don’t know.” She said and after a couple of moments she couldn’t take it anymore. She felt as if she didn’t say it now, the knot will burst and scar her for life. Inhaling deeply she let all of her feelings out in one short sentence.

“I miss you, mom.”

There was a pause on the other side of the phone and Tohsaka could hear her mother sniffing.

_We miss you too, Rin. Please come home soon, when you get the chance._

“Yes, I will.”

They talked for half an hour about everything; the classes, the teachers, her friends. Rin tried to keep it as cheerful as possible, knowing how her mother cries and worries about every single thing.

_Anyway, Rin, how is your new apartment? Is everything okay, there?_

For an instance, Rin hesitated. She knew there was no reason for her to lie about the way she was living now, but she had a nagging feeling that her parents wouldn’t like the fact that she was living with someone like Archer under the same roof.

“Yes, I am okay here. The roommate is one of my friends, so we get along nicely.”

_Okay, I’m glad, Rin. I was scared you’d have problems, but you really are your father’s daughter._

“Of course I am. I am a Tohsaka, mom. Don’t worry about me.”

_Okay, then I’ll go now. I’ll tell your father you called. Bye!_

“Bye mom.”

Rin hung up and put her phone down.

“Well, I am quite glad you consider me one of your friends, but, can I enter now? It’s getting cold outside.” A voice said from the other side of the door.

She turned around to notice Archer leaning on the door, his hand on the handle.

“How long have you been there?”

“Just for a bit. About, let’s see, half an hour? I didn’t want to interrupt your happy parent time.”

“It’s rude to overhear one’s conversation.”

“Guilty as charged. Still…” He eyed her as he entered the house.

“What?”

“Why did you lie about me?”

She looked away, feeling unable to provide an answer. Archer just shrugged and put his coat on the hanger.

“You know,” he began “I don’t want to pry into your personal business, but I don’t think you should lie to your parents.”

“Well, you are right, it’s my personal business.”

“Still… Is living with me a problem?”

She sighed.

“Look, no, it’s not. I just… I never lived--” She tried to explain.

“Gotcha. In any case, It’s time for lunch. Want to help?” He said, not waiting for her explanation. She couldn’t’ help the feeling he was kind of hurt by the whole thing, but he showed no emotions towards it. Am I becoming too soft?

“You know, I do consider you a friend, kind of.” She blurted it out. This was the day for the truth. If she could say she missed her mother, then she could say something like that to him. After all, talking to her mom left her with this strange feeling of satisfaction. She could go around the town complimenting people at this moment.

“You do?” He turned to her, a glimpse of surprise on his face that vanished instantly. She smiled.

“Well, yeah, I think you’re a good guy.” She grinned.

“I disagree, but okay.”

“Anyway, what was that about helping?”

“Oh yeah, if you’re up for it, you can learn cooking from an expert.”

“I cook better.”

“Which I still don’t know. But I need help with dishwashing.”

“Hey, I’m not your personal maid!”

They went to the kitchen, arguing all the way.

****  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- There was actually an original written speech, but I didn't like it. I did a fast research and actually found "2013 Speech at the Kyoto University Entrance Ceremony for Undergraduate Students (April 5, 2013)". I took the liberty to take only a couple of sentences because I really loved it. If it is a problem, I will remove it and come up with something else (which will probably suck cause I'm not a person of speeches - I never heard an entrance speech in my life). But yes, the entrance academy speech belongs to Hiroshi Matsumoto, not me. 
> 
> \- how many edits can you do before you start crying "no more, pls no more"?????
> 
> \- I have never in my life wanted to give a character a tramp stamp as I wanted now. Thank god I didn't.


	4. Taiyaki

The sun shining through a small gap between the curtains shone on Rin’s face, making her stir in bed. She pulled the covers over her head and grumbled slightly, but it was too late – she was already awake far earlier than she would’ve wanted to. All the excitement and horrifying events that happened kept her awake at night, as she spent hours replaying them in her head while punching the pillow in frustration. She was mentally drained. From time to time, she’d look at the print on the pillow the size of her fist and mumble an apology to the same object. After that, the circle would begin anew.

She crawled out of the bed and pulled the curtains to let the light in. Yawning, she opened the door and was immediately attacked by an eerie aura. The house was completely silent and dark. Archer was an early riser, to her dismay, and while being quiet enough not to wake her up, she would always hear the sound of dishes in the kitchen, or his footsteps in the living room as soon as she entered the hallway between the rooms.

“So even he oversleeps sometimes,” she mused making her way to the bathroom.

Waking up a bit thanks to the cold water, she emerged from the bathroom and frowned slightly at the uncomfortable feeling of being awake in the morning. _Should I make tea for both of us?_

Rin put two cups on the tray and glanced at the door to the bedroom where her roommate was sleeping. Soon enough, the smell of tea will make him walk out of the room and she will make fun of him for oversleeping. She knocked softly, but there was no answer.

She shrugged and continued to the living room, only to find a note on the coffee table.

_Gone out of the city and will be back by tomorrow. No parties. Nor unwelcomed guests._

Rin sighed. Holding the note, she put her tea on the table.

“At least he could’ve said goodbye in person,” she said to herself. To her, it was common decency to tell if you’re leaving the house.

However, she had to admit she preferred it this way. After the whole tattoo fiasco, and her declaration of them being friends, she realized she wanted some time alone. Having a roommate was quite exhausting and living in a big house with maids didn’t really prepare her for anything; after all, there are no classes on this subject. This time should be used to recuperate a bit. Unfortunately, she quickly realized that being alone in this house wasn’t a very good idea.

It felt like something was off. When she looked around it wasn’t that much; a half-full cup on the table, a screwdriver next to the couch, or a blanket folded neatly on the furniture. Even though everything was now in its place, it also felt out of place. _Is this how it was before I took the room?_

She was quietly sipping her tea, trying to enjoy the silence, but it just wasn’t happening. Accustomed to constant noise her roommate made, this whole atmosphere made her extremely uncomfortable. In fact, she was surprised to realize how much noise he made. He was always constantly fixing or tinkering something, whether it was a toaster or some music box, and from her experience, she had her suspicions about the garage.

Still, Rin had to admit she liked that side of him. Whenever he was working on something, he’d detach himself from the world. He wouldn’t notice anything happening around him. His expression would always be calm and peaceful; the only instance when that happens. The perpetual frown would vanish and occasionally, a tiny smile would appear. It would last only an instant, but Rin enjoyed watching his face and trying to catch it. It became one of her favorite pastimes.

She soon realized that all the stuff that breaks in the house, he would try to fix it. _Try_ being the right word. For hours at night, she’d hear him dismantle the things, trying to figure out what broke. Sometimes, he’d swear loudly, probably the result of some minor injury he caused to himself. By the morning, everything would be cleaned and the room would be neat as if this whole ritual never happened. She’d sometimes find a screw or some other piece under the couch or the table, the only testament to his love for fixing.

Except for the TV. From time to time, he’d pull the TV from the corner, where it was put some time before she moved in. He’d come back from the town, carrying a new piece of equipment, open it and try to replace it. She knew it was futile. From what Archer told her, the TV stopped working when one of his friends accidentally poured some water on it. Still, he didn’t give up.

“You never know if you don’t try.” He’d say to her, after hearing her sigh in dismay.

“You tried too many times, Archer.” She’d reply, knowing that he’ll still try to fix it. She vaguely remembered hearing it somewhere before.  “Why don’t you just buy a new one?”

“Because maybe this time I have the right piece. Also, it’s not like I have money for new one.”

It was never the right piece. After couple of hours, she’d hear him mumble something and put the TV back into the corner.

She smiled fondly as she remembered the scene. Whether she wanted to admit or no, he was fun to hang around with.

However, he was not here right now, and she had the whole house for herself. Tohsaka Rin could do whatever she wanted and he’d never find out.

“That would never work out, he’d find out,” she chuckled. There was this time when she rearranged two or three books on the bookshelf so she could make room for more, and the look he gave her made her want to run to her room. Then he put it the way it was.

The sound of her phone ringing broke the silence.

“Hello?”

_Tohsaka, how are you? Did I wake you up?_

“Oh, Emiya-kun, this is a nice surprise.  No, you didn’t, I was just drinking tea.”

_Oh, then I’m glad. I was worried I would wake you up, seeing how you aren’t really a morning per-_

“Emiya-kun…”

There was a small pause on the other side of the phone.

_Yes, well… I mean, why I called you… Err, would you like to go for a walk?_

She felt her throat going dry. Was he asking her on a date? He couldn’t have; Rin was sure he had at least some feelings for Sakura. Actually, she could bet everything she had on this fact. Still, this sounded very like a date invitation, and before she declined, she had to be sure what it is.

“You mean, just the two of us,” she asked casually.

_Oh, well, n-no. I actually…_

She sighed in relief and put her phone down. So it wasn’t a date after all.

“Y-yes, that works for me. Well then, I guess I’ll see you later on?”

_Huh? Yeah. Well, I actually thought right now?_

“Oh, well… Yes, I can go out right now.”

_That’s great, how about we meet at the university building in half an hour?_

“Make it an hour.” Rin proposed. She loved taking her time when it came to getting ready to go out.

_Fine, an hour. See you there!_

She put her phone down and sighed in content; a whole day with Shirou just like in the old days would do her good. This was already starting to look like a wonderful day. She put her cup into the sink and went to her room. Contemplating for couple of minutes what to wear she decided to go with her usual clothes. It’s not like they were going somewhere fancy, it was still just a walk. Rin giggled. Maybe she can convince him to help her buy groceries and she was pretty sure she can persuade him to carry all the bags back to her home, which is something she never got to convince her roommate. That man not only loathed going shopping, but ever since she declined his offer to carry her stuff, he would specifically huff and pretend to ignore her asking him to help her whenever she asked him.

But Shirou was different. He was always very polite, and inclined to help. It made him very popular in high school; everybody knew they could rely on Emiya Shirou. Even she had to admit asking for his help. The track and field team would constantly book his free time, and the president of the student council maintained a good friendship with him, all thanks to Shirou’s intent to help everyone.

“I wonder who else is coming too.” Rin said, while fixing her hair in front of a mirror.  Giving her appearance one last look in the full-sized mirror in the hallway, she nodded in content and opened the door.

“I’m off.” Rin said to no one in particular; it felt weird saying that to the house.

*  *  *

“Tohsaka, I told you about it on the phone, you don’t get to make a surprised face when you know who’s coming.”

Shirou was standing in front of Rin, grinning in amusement. She was prepared for everything, but not for this. Not even Sakura showing up suddenly saying she’s staying over at Shirou’s place would have left her this speechless as the person standing a bit behind him, smiling slightly.

Rin recognized the blonde teacher from the ceremony. While Mitsuzuri did mention that Shirou lived with her, Rin never even considered Shirou would actually bring a teacher to spend time with students – first year students.

Completely oblivious to the effect she had on Rin, the woman nodded in greeting and smiled.

“Shirou, are you sure it’s okay for me to be here? I can leave you two alone, if you prefer that,” she muttered to Shirou, slightly tapping him on the shoulder.

“No, no, it’s okay, aunt Saber, she won’t mind, I already told her over the phone and she didn’t say anything.”

Rin didn’t bother to mention that she didn’t hear it – mostly due to the fact she was having other problems to worry about at the time. Instead, she focused on the information that was just revealed to her.

“I told you not to call me that,” the woman practically hissed.

“That is an unusual name…” Rin mused, already recovering fast.

“Oh,” the other woman smiled awkwardly, “it’s just a nickname from an old friend, not a very interesting story. My real name is Ar—you know, just call me Saber.”

“I—if you insist,” Rin said, bowing slightly. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too.  I hope I’m not intruding at anything.”

“I already told you, aunt Saber, you’re not.”

“And I already told you not to call me that. Do I look like I have forty years?” Saber shot him a glance that left no room for negotiation at which he smiled awkwardly.

“So, do you have something in plan, Emiya-kun?” Rin asked.

He contemplated for a bit and then shook his head. “Not really. Au—I mean, Saber and I were thinking of going for a walk, and then I thought of inviting you, but that’s it.”

Rin was silent for a long time. This was her unique opportunity to go and do things she couldn’t have until now, seeing how she finally had a backup.

“Why don’t we go for a walk through the shopping district and stop by the market?” Rin offered. “After all, I remember there’s this café there that Himuro told me about when she went on a trip here couple of months ago.”

“Well, I agree. After all, shopping is fun,” Saber agreed.

“In fact,” Rin continued, “I was hoping if you would help me with grocery shopping too. I got a very big list here, and I really don’t think I can carry it all.”

“Oh, so you stopped doing push-ups?” Shirou asked.

Rin sighed. Emiya Shirou was one of the kindest people she ever had a fortune of meeting. However, he had a bad habit of saying most of the things he had on his mind, even if they could be plain rude. Social interactions were never his strong point.

 Smiling gently she approached him and smacked him right on his head. Saber laughed, while Shirou was holding his head in pain, very confused.

“What did I do?” He mouthed to Saber. She shrugged and turned to Rin, deciding to change the subject.

“Um, I have one idea. How about we also cook dinner together? Shirou is an excellent cook, it would be a shame to pass up on that.”

“Good idea! We could make it a cooking show-off.” Rin grinned. “I can annihilate Shirou once again. Oh this is going to be so much fun!”

The two girls continued chattering, nodding to each other.

Shirou raised his hand to interrupt them, but just couldn’t catch a turn to speak up. They completely ignored his weak attempts. Finally, after couple of minutes, they turned their attention back to him.

“What?” Rin asked.

“Does anyone here have enough money for a cooking show-off?” He asked.

Well, luckily for you,” Saber said, tapping her purse, “I am an adult who got her paycheck yesterday.” She looked at Shirou as if threatening him, but her eyes were showing a hint of amusement. “Don’t you dare call me _that._ ”

“Then it’s all settled! Let’s go shop for the groceries!” Rin skipped towards the market, singing an ominous song that Shirou couldn’t shake off as being directed at him. Saber was right behind her, leaving Shirou, who was now deeply distressed, alone.

“Girls are scary…” He trailed off, looking at the devilish duo.

They soon arrived at the market. It was bigger than in their hometown, with a wider variety of food and seasoning. The owners of the stores were putting the second batch of fresh goods outside the stores, in hopes of attracting the customers.

Shirou was carefully browsing through the goods, trying to pick the best ones for a fine bargain. Not feeling in the mood to buy groceries, since Shirou was having it all under control, Rin was standing a bit behind, with the other woman.

“So, Shirou is living with you?” Rin asked.

“Yes, I owed his father a favor so I agreed to let him here with me, while he studies here.” Saber nodded.

“That must be a big favor, to put a university teacher in a debt.” Rin smiled.

“Not really, no. I accepted because Shirou is very dear to me. He was such a cute child,” the woman chuckled. “He told me a lot about you, you know. Actually, at the entrance ceremony, he just kept glancing through the crowd, trying to see you.”

“Oh, I see.”

Rin was silent for a long time. She wasn’t sure if she read Shirou’s intentions wrong, now that this knowledge reached her. She didn’t want to do anything about it, if she could help it, at least until for the time being.

 Saber was watching her, and then suddenly she took her hand and pointed towards a store.

“We could have takoyaki for dinner.”

“Hmm, that is a wonderful idea,” Rin pondered. “It’s easy to make.”

“But what are the chances of us having a takoyaki pan…” Saber was now thinking out loud. “I could ask a friend to borrow, but that would be a big pain; it’s like making a bargain with the devil…”

“Oh, but I think I have it!” Rin said suddenly, “I remember seeing it somewhere amongst the dishes. The kitchen at my place has everything.”

“Huh, so it is a common thing these days to have a kitchen fully equipped. Shirou!” Saber called, “change of plans, we’re having dinner at Rin’s place!”

“Huh? Why?”

“Because it will be takoyaki for dinner and she has the pan.”

“Why do you even have a takoyaki pan, Rin?” Shirou said, trying to divide all the bags evenly.

Rin shrugged.  “The kitchen has everything. Don’t ask me, it was there when I moved in. My roommate cooks a lot, I suppose. Oh, wait a moment, I remembered I wanted to pick up something.”

Rin disappeared into one of the shops and soon came back holding package hidden safely in a plastic bag. When asked what’s in there, she grinned and said it’s a secret. Even though they were curious, on Shirou’s suggestion they dropped the matter.

“This is Tohsaka, whatever it is, it is totally not good.” He said, shrugging a bit. “Just say you don’t’ want to eat and it’ll be fine.”

After half an hour, they were all tired, but finally finished with the shopping. Since there was plenty of time to spare, they decided that lunch would be something light. They grabbed couple of taiyaki and sat on the grass in the park. It was a lovely day and they wanted to enjoy the sun for a bit before going home.

“So, we’re making dinner at your place?” Shirou asked Rin.

“Yeah, I am alone until tomorrow, so why not make use of it?” Rin said.

“Hmm,” Saber chimed in between bites, “is your apartment far from here?”

“Not actually, it’s just ten minutes’ walk.”

“Oh, I have a friend who lives nearby.” Saber said.

“Really? Then you must know the neighborhood.”

“Yeah, I do. It’s really nice here. I hope I can live here one day.” Saber sighed. “You know, all the houses and gardens, it must be a lovely place. But I’m also content with my apartment, and Shirou is living with me, so it’s fine.”

Rin glanced at Shirou; the scene reminded her of a scene from couple of months ago.

_She did it on a whim that day. She accepted Mitsuzuri’s offer to come and watch the archery club. It ended a bit earlier than expected, but the tea with her friend made up for it double._

_What she didn’t expect was to find Sakura and Shirou on the bench eating taiyaki together. Every instinct told her that she should just move on and never mention it to Sakura ever again, but she still hid behind a tree near enough to hear what they were talking about._

_“See, the red beans one is better!” Sakura said._

_“But I really like mine,” He huffed._

_Sakura now completely abandoned her taiyaki in favor of trying to convince Shirou that hers is better, was now feeding him, ignoring his flustered protests._

_Rin smiled. They always had a better connection than Rin had with them. That was probably the result of so much time spent together. Sakura, usually the shy girl who barely spoke with others, truly changed since she met him and Rin was very grateful to see this development. However, she always felt a pang of guilt, because she recognized that expression Sakura had whenever she looked at Shirou. He could be so oblivious and dumb sometimes._

No matter how much they all spent time together during the high school years, Rin sometimes managed to catch Shirou looking at her, always with awe and admiration; same look other boys had. The mere thought of that made her furious.

Ever since that day, Rin was not interested in Emiya Shirou and maybe this year he will finally learn what he has to do.

“You don’t share taiyaki with someone in that way and then just move on,” she muttered.

“Oh?” Saber tilted her head.

“It’s nothing.” Rin stood up, having finished her taiyaki. “Shall we move on, then?”

Saber and Shirou nodded and they slowly headed towards her house.

As they were slowly nearing Rin’s place, Rin noticed how Saber was getting more and more anxious. When they were finally in front of the apartment, Saber stopped suddenly.

“This is where you live?” She asked surprised.

“Yes.”

“That’s... It’s... a lovely house.” She managed to say.

“Indeed it is.” Rin said, unlocking the front door. “Well, make yourself comfortable. Kitchen is that way, Emiya-kun, let me help you with the bags.”

She took half of Shirou’s bags, which he really welcomed, and showed him the way to the kitchen. Shirou soon emerged from the kitchen and approached Saber.

“I never told you. Sorry, I completely forgot. Tohsaka is the one who took this apartment.”

“I see.” She said, and then sighed. “Honestly, Shirou, I told you back then you shouldn’t have. I mean, it was just an afterthought, why did you look for a person to live here?”

“It’s not like I ran around asking everyone, it was just pure luck. Honestly, I only mentioned it to Mitsuzuri. But this house sure is something.” He continued, looking around. “To be honest I kind of hoped to meet her roommate, but she said he’s out of town…”

“Thank god…” The woman muttered.

“What?”

“Nothing!” She said nervously.

“In any case, what is he like? You said he’s a friend of yours.” Shirou resumed the topic, oblivious to Saber’s distress.

“Oh, well… How do I put it… He is polite, a good cook.” She sighed once again. “He is a good person, but sometimes people misunderstand him, I guess.”

Seeing the worried look on Shirou’s face she patted his arm, the only part she could reach casually, and smiled. “Don’t worry; your Rin-chan is in safe hands.”

“I see… And, how does he… look like?”

Were Saber not looking at his mouth, she would’ve definitely missed this question. Shirou was now a deep shade of red and looking at the ground, almost as if regretting asking her. Feeling overwhelmed by emotions, Saber suddenly grabbed his shoulders, surprising him and forcing him to look her in the eyes.

“Shirou!” She said firmly. “You will not lose. I will not let you lose. You will get her, I promise. By the end of the year, you will be going out with Tohsaka Rin. I swear. I will never let you lose to him.”

“Wha-?” He was now staring at her, failing to process everything she said.

“Emiya Shirou, you will never lose to anyone!” She let go of his shoulders and was now staring at him, her hand on her heart, confidence beaming from her eyes. “If this is what you require to be happy, I will do anything in my power to acquire it.”

Chest heaving, she stood in silence, awaiting his reply. The silence continued for couple of minutes, with Shirou blinking at Saber.

“Aunt Saber, what are you talking about?” He finally asked tentatively.

“Eh?” She blinked once in confusion. “Uh, I thought you were…”

“Aunt Saber, I do not like Tohsaka.”

She shook her head to clear it and pointed a finger at him.

“Then, you aren’t, I mean, I thought you were…”

“Jealous? Of course I am. I like Tohsaka.”

“But you just said—“

“I don’t like her like that.” He smiled. “Sure, I do wish we went on a date, but, she is unreachable for me, I guess. But…” He looked at his feet, “I guess she is important to me, but there are other people who are equally important to me. I knew from the start some things are unattainable.”

Saber could only just stare at him. Was this the same Shirou who used to be so stubborn, refusing to give up on his goals? That was impossible. Just what happened to him so he ended up like that?

Patting Saber’s shoulder, Shirou turned around and sat on the couch, waiting for Rin.

Saber took that moment go outside and calm herself. When she returned, Rin was back with tea while Shirou was inspecting the bookshelf.

“It’s really nice and cozy here. I envy you, Tohsaka. Saber’s apartment is big, but it’s on 15th floor and the view isn’t really nice. Once the elevator broke…” Shirou said, picking up one of the books from the shelf. It looked like it spent a day outside on the rain, and there was still some mud on it. He hit it couple of times and the mud fell on the floor. He turned around to see Rin glaring at him and he grinned sheepishly. She pointed at the hallway.

“The broom closet is there.”

Soon, they were all making themselves cozy in the living room. Shirou found couple of interesting books that he was going through now, while Saber was just sitting on the couch, looking at her phone from time to time.  After a while Saber let out a shudder.

“It’s really getting cold in here,” she said, hugging herself.

“Yes,” Tohsaka said. “There’s heating in all rooms, but unfortunately, I don’t know how to make fire in the fireplace, and this room is the coldest, actually. You’ll have to bear with it, sorry.”

“Or not,” Shirou said, standing up. “I know how to make it work.”

He went outside and soon returned with wood. Like an expert, he made a pile in the fireplace in no time, and soon they had nice and cozy fire going. He went outside and returned with more wood which he placed next to it.

“Well, I think what I put here is enough to last until your roommate returns.” He said, satisfied with job well done.

“Oh, thank you. Honestly, I got used to the cold, but this is so nice” Rin replied.

“It’s no problem, I learned this when we were on that vacation couple of years ago. We had that traditional bath and I was in charge of heating it up.” He smiled.

“Excuse me; I got to go to the bathroom.” Saber suddenly got up and not waiting for the reply, she disappeared.

“Oh, it’s right… there. Huh, she got it on the first try.” Rin said, confused.

While they were slowly approaching the house before, the realization where they were coming slowly dawned on Saber. She decided to send a text to her friend and patiently wait. When the phone lit up, she practically dashed into the bathroom, thinking of some half-excuse.

_Oh, you picked up. What’s up? Need help with something?_

“Don’t you ‘hey’ me! Do you know where I am?”

_Hmm, let me guess: at work?_

“Wait, never mind me, where are you?”

_Out of town .I just arrived at my destination. Why?_

“I am in your house. Your roommate is cooking for me.”

_Oh, well have fun. Wait… She’s cooking for you?_

“Yes, I thought you of all people would tell me something about this girl, but now I’m here and where are you?”

_How come she cooks for you? She never cooked for me._

“That is not the problem. We need to talk about you living under a roof with a gorgeous young woman who—“

_And I even asked her to cook for me. This is totally unfair._

“Are you even listening to me?”

_Yes. But wait, before you continue, I need to ask you something very serious and important._

Saber looked at her phone, confused.

“Okay, ask.”

_What’s she cooking?_

She hung up the phone. Sighing she returned back to the living room. _I will give him a piece of my mind when he comes back_.

Shirou and Rin were now examining the TV in the corner.

“I don’t think this is fixable.” Shirou said, opening it with a screwdriver.

“Yes, I know, but… I want a TV dammit.” Rin sighed exasperatedly.

“Well, buy a new one.” Saber shrugged.

“Oh you’re back,” Shirou glanced at Saber, but quickly went back to the issue at hand. “You know, whoever did these repairs, is very skilled.”

“Really? Huh, I thought he just loved tinkering,” Rin chuckled.

“Well, you never know until you try, but I really think this isn’t fixable.” Shirou sighed, and closed the lid of the TV. They left everything as it is, since it was time to start dinner, and moved to kitchen.

Soon, everybody was in the kitchen working in unison to make takoyaki. Rin showing the pan victoriously made everyone’s mood lighten up. It was a pretty simple snack and they had to admit to have been craving it for quite some time.

The frying was left to Shirou, while Rin and Saber were sitting at the dining table, merrily chatting. From time to time, Rin would go offer some help, casually dropping a joke or something to Shirou. By the time the dinner was finished, Shirou was flustered beyond exhausting. Holding triumphant expressions, the two girls put the plates full of takoyaki on the table.

“You know, as the judge, I have to say that this was the outcome I expected the least, but it produced the best results.” Saber said, putting a takoyaki in her mouth and sighing in content.

“The outcome?” Sakura asked.

“Well, the teamwork. I honestly never expected you to so quickly team up together and make the best takoyaki I ever ate.”

“Teamwork my ass,” muttered Shirou. “I did all the work.”

“Well, we kept you company and we didn’t nag you at all.” Rin chimed in. “It’s better for one person to do it, than to have all three of us run around aimlessly.”

“That is not a definition of teamwork.” Shirou said but decided to drop it.

After the dinner, Rin washed the dishes, while Saber helped her dry them out.

“Hehe, we’re all good cooks.” Rin grinned, as she gave the last plate to Saber.

“You didn’t cook anything.”

Rin sighed. “Emiya-kun, are you still hung up on that? Honestly, your grudges are the worst.”

“Indeed,” Saber agreed. “Anyway, isn’t it time we go home, Shirou?”

“Oh, right.” He said, glancing at his watch. “Tohsaka, are you going to be okay alone in this house?”

“I’ll be fine. It’s not the first time I’m alone in a house.” She said as they were standing at the doorway.

They all thanked Rin and said their goodbyes, and soon, she was standing in an empty house once again.

“Well, I guess it’s time to go to sleep.” She yawned. _But I am alone in the house. I can do whatever I want._

Rin happily sprawled herself over the couch to think about what to do.  She closed her eyes for a second. Soon, she drifted off to sleep, all her ideas left for another time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- This came really late, but my personal life takes priority over this. Fortunately, everything is settled, the next chapter will be on Sunday.   
> \- I still feel like I didn't write Shirou the way he really deserves, but in the end I decided to make up for it next time he shows up. I'll probably say the same thing next time.


	5. A Day Of Bad Luck

Rin opened her eyes slowly and groaned as she realized it was morning. She was in the middle of planning her night, and possibly the next day, but it seems she was more tired than she thought and fell asleep in the living room just as Shirou and Saber left.

“Oh no, now I really did it,” she said, as she yawned and stood up from the couch.

She stretched her arms and her neck, everything stiff from the uncomfortable position she slept in the whole night.

“Honestly, how is he sleeping on this thing?” She asked herself, watching the couch with disdain.

The truth was, ever since the day she met him, Rin couldn’t really find any proof he slept on the couch, and only had his words and him pointing at the neatly folded blanket as a proof.

Rin would sometimes doubt he even slept at all, no matter how ridiculous that sounded. He was always awake when she got up, and quite rarely went to sleep before her. It was impossible a human being could function on so little sleep. Being a person who slept for eight hours or so and couldn’t function before nine in the morning, it bothered her a lot.

“You honestly don’t appreciate the power of a good sleep,” she would tell him.

He’d just wave his hand dismissively and change the topic.

Rin stretched once again while entering the bathroom. She scowled at her reflection in the mirror.

Falling asleep on the couch really took a toll on her and it showed. There were bags under her eyes and she was extremely pale. Her hair was all over the place and there was just no brush that could get it in order.

She gave up and tied her hair in a messy bun. It’s not like she was going anywhere today; there was work to be done around the house. Even though they cleaned the mess yesterday, she could tell it wasn’t thorough. Unfortunately, after one good inspection she realized the problem was much bigger – since both she and her roommate were constantly busy and in and out of the house, the rooms were neglected. This required a thorough cleaning that she couldn’t do alone, so all she could do is to wait for him to come back and then convince him to help her, which is not that hard; contrary to her first impression of him, Archer loved cleaning around the house.

She took her books and sat on the couch again. The fire died out during the night and, convincing herself that she can endure it, she didn’t bother trying to light it again. It had nothing to do with the fact that she didn’t know how to do it. She started skimming through the study material; the classes were starting in couple of days, and she wanted to get familiar with the subjects. If she was going to get a degree, she might as well do it thoroughly.

The subjects were mostly light and she sighed in relief. All that studying in high school paid off now that she is at university. What paid off even more were all those house tutors her father hired after she pleaded with him for two straight weeks. Rin grinned and started reading the first book from the pile. It was a philosophy book, which she inspected with great contempt.

She wasn’t really a fan of philosophy in high school . It was a dull subject. Mariko-san, the philosophy teacher, didn’t really care about the subject and mostly spent time complaining how new generation of teachers is very lazy, and how students were getting worse and worse. Everyone knew it was her last year until retirement; she mentioned it at least twice every class.

Sighing deeply, Rin opened the book on the first chapter.

“Heh, I already know what philosophy is, it’s the dullest dull in the dulliverse.” She snorted.

However, she kept reading. For some reason she couldn’t stop. Pulling her legs so they were beneath her, she made herself more comfortable and turned the page.

*   *   *

Finally raising her head from the books, Rin looked at the clock; it has been four hours now since she started studying. It surprised her. The philosophy book was very interesting and she was engrossed in it, which was weird, since she wasn’t all that into it during high school.

Rin took that subject only because people, well mainly Mitsuzuri, said the professor is amazing and she was curious, but now she had to admit it started to interest her. On the other hand, this was just her first year, and everything could happen. She felt her stomach turn at the realization.

“It doesn’t really matter what I choose.” She whispered, horrified.

It was true. Her family business was waiting for her to continue it. Rin closed her eyes and counted to ten, pushing away the feeling of uneasiness.

Having calmed down, she stood up and went to her room to retrieve the phone.

She never got used to carrying a cellphone. When she thought about it, it was actually quite funny; she was very bad with technology. She always chalked it up to her family being traditional, but that was a lame excuse. Tohsaka Rin was bad with technology, period.

She checked her phone; there was a missed call from her parents and a text from Shirou about the yesterday’s events.

Not being in the mood for slow and clumsy keyboard writing, she ignored the text for now and dialed her parents. After third ring her parents picked up.

_Hello?_ A male voice was on the other side of the line.

“Dad?”

_Tohsaka! Well, it’s nice to hear your voice. How are you?_

“I’m fine, father. How are you? I wanted to talk to you too last time I called, but mom said you’re busy.”

_Yes we had a very busy week. I managed to get another job deal. But enough of the boring stuff. How are classes? Are you studying?_

“We haven’t even started the classes, it’s next week. But yes, I already started studying. It’s not so bad, I went through some of the books—“

Rin was interrupted by the sound of door closing. Knowing that her roommate isn’t coming back until evening, or even tomorrow, she went silent.

“Dad, I’m going to call you back later, I need to do something now, okay?”

_Tohsaka, something is wrong, I know that tone.  Are you okay? Has something happened?_

“I’m fine; it’s nothing, just some minor thing I need to take care off.”

She hung up and took the lamp standing on the drawer next to her bed. No one is supposed to come this early; she should be alone way late into the evening.

This could mean only one thing – someone thought the house is empty and broke in to steal stuff.

Rin quietly opened the door and peered outside. There was no one in her line of sight. Clutching the lamp tightly she sneaked into the living room. A man she didn’t recognize was leaning towards the bookshelf inspecting the books completely at ease and relaxed.

_He probably thinks they are worth something and is considering whether to steal them._

Trying not to reveal her presence, she tiptoed to the man. Knowing she has only one chance she braced herself and called out to him.

“Hey!” She yelled as loud as she could.

The man startled and turned around quickly, surprised. That was her cue; waiting no more she swung the lamp and hit him on the side of his head with all her might. He fell on the floor and didn’t move. Panting, she nudged him with her foot, but got no response.

_Did I kill him?_ The realization suddenly struck her.

Rin let the lamp fall on the floor and dialed the police. She missed the number couple of times, but got it right in the end.

While she was waiting for police, Rin exited the house, not even thinking of taking a coat. Being in the same room as the robber was something she’d prefer not to do if possible. It wasn’t cold for her, not in this state. The adrenaline was still rushing through her and she kept pacing around, trying to calm herself, but to no avail. From time to time she would glance towards the living room, wondering if the man got up. Soon, a police car parked in front of the gate. Two policemen entered and she ran towards them to greet them.

“Were you the one who called the police?” One of them asked.

“Y-yes. I…”

“It’s okay, we’re here now. Is this the man?” They said, as they entered the living room, Rin trailing behind them.

She nodded.

“Well, you sure did a number on him. He’s unconscious, but alive.” The other policeman grinned. “I am half-tempted to enlist you into police.”

Rin smiled weakly. The sight of police made her finally calm down and grasp the situation she was in. Oh god, she hit a man, with a lamp!

“What’s going to happen with me?” She asked. Surely it was self-defense, but what if it was not? A doubt appeared in her mind and she realized she’s about to panic second time. She’s been away from her parents for less than a month and she was already in trouble.

“Nah, don’t worry about it. No permanent damage.” One of the policeman said, clearly amused how this little, fragile girl overpowered a man like this.

“I was scared, I really didn’t know what else to do. I had no other choice,” Rin kept apologizing.

“Yes, we know, it’s okay, no one is going to hurt you now, it’s okay.” The first policeman said, putting a hand on her shoulder to calm her.

The unconscious man stirred.

“Okay, lift him up to see what’s happening.”

The man slowly opened his eyes and raised his hands to his head.

“What happened?” He asked, groaning from pain.

“Sir, are you aware you broke into this house?”

“Broke in? No, this is—“

“Are you under the influence of alcohol?”

“What? No, I just came back from… Huh?” The man lifted his head abruptly and noticed Rin, a good distance away, using armchair as a shield. “Oh fuck, wait, did I enter the wrong apartment?”

The two policemen looked at each other.

“But wait, I remember I opened the door with the key. This is the place. What is going on? I’m so confused.”

“Sir, you are coming with us to the station.”

“What? Wait, wait, wait, I haven’t broken in anywhere. I have the keys!”

“Wait, why do you have the keys to my apartment?” Rin suddenly asked.

“Because they are mine. This is _my_ house.  Look, I know the person living here, he can vouch for me.” He was now getting more agitated and looking around.

“Miss, do you know him?” One of the policemen asked Rin.

She shook her head. The man was still searching around; it almost made her feel sorry for him.

“You… live alone,” he asked her

“No, I have— wait,” she suddenly said, “I have a roommate. He’s out of the town and will come back tomorrow, though. Maybe they know each other?”

“To my great dismay, I do know him.” A voice suddenly chimed in from the entrance.

They all turned towards the door. Archer was standing at the door, disbelief and amusement all over his face. _When did he enter the house? I didn’t hear him come at all._ Rin was staring at him, not believing he’s really here, in front of her.

“So, he is not a burglar?”

“Oh, no, he’s my friend. But please, by all means lock him up in the jail for today.”

“Excuse me?”

“Well he did enter this house unannounced,” Archer continued in an even voice. “He also dealt an emotional trauma to my roommate. Let’s call it even.”

The man was sitting there speechless as Archer sighed and walked over to him. They stared at each other in silence for couple of moment.

Rin, utterly relieved seeing Archer now, slumped on the high end of the armchair and let a shaky laugh. Never in her life has she been so relieved to see someone like him. If there weren’t people around them, she would’ve hugged him right there and then.

Having confirmed that this was all a big misunderstanding, she was finally back to her usual self. Well, as much as she could. The adrenaline wore off and she knew she hasn’t been in danger for quite some time now.

“As much as I’d like to say to leave him be, it’s actually this lady’s decision here.” Archer nodded in Rin’s direction.

“Oh, no, no, it’s okay. Everything is okay now. I am sorry for your trouble.” She apologized to the policemen, who nodded goodbye and left. She could hear their laughter as they exited the building.

“Man, she really did smack him hard.” She could hear them laughing in the front yard.

Archer closed the door and turned to Rin.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” She nodded.

He sighed and looked at the other man with exasperation.

“I was gone for one day,” he said as he rubbed his eyes in exasperation.

“I was gone for six months and people already turned hostile towards me,” the man said, meekly.

Archer went back to the couch.

“And what’s wrong with you?” Archer raised an eyebrow.

“I was unconscious for hours man!” The other man whined like a small child.

“It was only fifteen minutes.” Rin countered.

“Okay, I really want to know now, what on earth happened here?” Archer settled comfortably, waiting for an explanation. A headache was coming his way and he wasn’t really looking forward to it.

Both Rin and the man started yelling at the same time pointing at the other person during their explanations. It was clear they weren’t getting anywhere if they kept doing this.

“Okay,” he stood up once again and raised his arms to shut them up, “let’s all calm down. Rin, you start first.”

“Okay, I was alone, I fell asleep on the couch and all, then I was studying, and you know, it was a bit cold ad I wanted to light the fire-“

“Get to the point, Rin.”

“Oh, yes, sorry…” She coughed awkwardly. “Anyway, I was in my room I heard a noise and I just… I don’t’ know I took the lamp and sneaked up and… I hit him.” She finished weakly.

 As she was telling the story, the man sitting on the couch was finally realizing what happened.

“No, wait, I didn’t know. Look, I came back from a six months trip on the ocean. I wanted to pay this idiot a visit, so I let myself in. It’s what I do all the time. I didn’t know there was another person here.” He defended himself.

Archer was silent for a long time, pondering something seriously. Then suddenly, not being able to control himself anymore burst into laughter.

“Rin, please go back to the part when you hit him with a lamp.”

Neither Rin, nor the visitor found this funny.

“Just who are you?”

“He’s the owner of the house, of course,” Archer grinned.

“I’m not. Really, I’m not. My mother is,” the man raised his hand in a half-hearted greeting, “I’m Cu, and have a headache.”

“I’m Tohsaka Rin. Err, sorry about your head.”  _This is the worst introduction I ever had in my life._

“I’m over it. To be honest, I shouldn’t have come unannounced, so it’s mostly my fault. But in the end, no harm done, I suppose.”

He kept touching his head and wincing. When Rin offered him some ice for the injury, he declined it. They kept awkwardly glancing at each other.

“Well, good that you’re here, because I need your help.” Archer said, standing up suddenly.

“Oh, great, suddenly I’m your friend, now that there’s job to do.”

“Well, you need to make up for all the damage you’ve done.”

“What damage? I got hit in the head!”

“Not hard enough.” Archer said, loud enough only for Rin to hear.

Rin giggled. Cu kept looking from her to Archer and then sighed n defeat.

“Whatever, what do you need help with?”

“Oh, I don’t know, maybe a new TV?”

“That TV is your fault entirely,” Cu grumbled, but stood up. “I have a feeling I’m cursed with bad luck…”

“I think I will make some tea for all of us.” Rin said, going to the kitchen.

As she put a kettle, she put her hands on the table and sighed. What an eventful day. If someone told her this would happen today, she would laugh in their face. The time she spent living in this house was more fun than she had her whole life. She heard the kitchen door open.

“Are you sure you’re okay? You could just go and rest in your room, you know. Cu isn’t really a guest here, so there’s no need to go through all this trouble for him.” Archer said, leaning on the kitchen door.

“No, it’s okay, I’m fine.” She said. “I mean, it was scary, but it wasn’t that much. He got what he deserved though.”

“Indeed. I don’t think he’ll sneak into this house anytime soon.” Archer grinned. “Well, in any case, if his presence is bothering you, I can always kick him out.”

“No, no, really it’s fine. Don’t worry about me. I’m strong!” She said, flexing her arms trying to show off her muscles.

“That is true. I am considering putting a ‘beware of Tohsaka Rin’ sign at the gate, you know.”

She threw an apron at him.

“Get out.”

“Fine, fine I’m going. I just wanted to check up on you.” He raised his arms in defeat and promptly left the kitchen.

She took out her phone and dialed her parents again. Having finished the conversation so abruptly, they were probably sick with worry. Her father picked up again.

“Hello?”

_Tohsaka!_ _Are you okay? What happened?_

Rin was expecting her father to pick up the phone, but it was only natural that it would be her mother who was keeping watch next to the phone. _I bet she snatched the phone from his hands._

“Yeah, it was just some visitors, nothing to worry about.” She was trying to sound as cheerful as she could.

_Visitors?_

“Yes, I forgot I was expecting them. I’m sorry for worrying you but everything is alright now.”

_You... Forgot? Tohsaka Rin, do you have any idea what you’ve done? Your father said you cut the line so suddenly oh god I was so worried! Was it a burglar? Did you call the police?_

“Mother, it’s nothing, seriously. I just forgot I was expecting company. I was reading so I didn’t pay attention. Really, stop worrying so much.”

The kettle started whistling and it was a cue Rin waited for.

“Mother, I got to go now, the tea is done. I am fine, no need to worry. Bye!”

_But, Rin—_

Rin hung up and went back to the tea. _Well, at least they heard I am safe and sound and they don’t have to worry anymore._ Of course, no need to tell them what really happened. If she did, the adventures of Tohsaka Rin on university will end before the classes even started.

Back in living room, Cu was gingerly touching the bruise that was forming on his face.

“Man, she really is something,” he said, flinching at the pain.

“Well, it’s your own damn fault.” Archer said, taking the lamp from the floor. “Look at this, all dented. It’s a miracle you’re still alive.”

“My head is very hard, and I got hit with worse things.”

“Well this is what you get for entering this place unannounced.”

“Hah! You should’ve told me you found a roommate.” Cu replied.

“You were out on the ocean. There is no reception there. How was I supposed to know you came back?” Archer said calmly, still investigating the lamp. He kind of felt sorry for Cu, now that he realized in what state the lamp was.

“You know, if such a cute, nice, young lady moved in with me, whole world would know.”

“Well, for the greater good, let’s just pray that never happens.”

“Remind me why we’re friends, once again.”

“Because I take care of your dog sometimes.”

“True.”

“And your parents love me.”

“Even more than me,” Cu grumbled. “Anyway, you said you need help?”

“Yeah, there’s something in the car that I can’t move by myself.”

“Oh my god, is it a body? I knew that day would come. Now I’ll be once again the favorite son!”

“You are their favorite son.”

“Trust me, I’m not. You are more their son than I am which is alarming since you aren’t even their son. Man, if I knew I’d have brought my lucky shovel.”

“Yeah, no, it’s not a body. Come with me.”

They went outside and Archer opened the trunk of the car. The whole back seat was laid down and there was something huge covered with sheets on it.

“You know, I don’t remember you having a car.” Cu said, frowning slightly.

“That’s because I use it rarely.” Archer opened the trunk of the car to reveal something big and bulky covered with a sheet.

“Why do you have it then? It’s a waste of money and goes against all your beliefs to waste money. Also, what is that?”

“The thing we boought before you left.”

“Oh! I remember! Okay, let’s take this thing inside. I can’t wait to see it.”

After some debating how they are going to transport it, they both took the thing, one on each end. It was heavy, and bulky, and it took them long time, but they were finally able to place it in the middle of the living room, just as Rin was putting tea on the table. Cu leaned on the armchair, panting. Archer was holding himself against the fireplace. He looked curiously inside it.

“Oh, you managed to light a fire?”

“I had a couple of friends over yesterday. One of them did it.” Rin said.

“Nice. I was a bit worried, but figured I’d be back soon so didn’t bother to check up on you. Hmm, there’s a broken heater in the garage, I could try fixing it so you won’t be cold if something like this happens again.”

“If you fix it like you fixed the TV, I guess she’s going to be cold for a long time.” Cu chimed in.

“You really want to go there? How about you pay for that?”

“I’ll shut up.”

“Anyway,” Rin interrupted, “what is that?”

“Ah…” Archer started.

“It’s… complicated.” Cu sighed.

“This is my three salaries. And a bit from the stash I kept aside, but well worth it.” Archer continued.

He removed the sheet to reveal a beautiful large sword cast in blue and gold, embedded in a large stone.

“This is Excalibur.” He finished, proudly.

“You gave three salaries on a sword?” Rin asked, confused.

“Not any sword.” Cu said. “This is very good copy of Excalibur, King Arthur’s sword. Almost as if real. It’s a gift for a friend.”

“Wow, you really went out of your way to acquire this.”

She was now inspecting it. The sword was indeed beautiful. What she could see of the sword, that wasn’t in the stone, was carved with beautiful patterns and emanating a glow under the weak light of the living room. It was indeed a masterpiece.

“And that’s not all. Check this out.” Archer said.

After tinkering a bit with the stone, he made a triumphant noise and pressed the hidden switch. A noise clicked inside the stone and he pulled the sword out of the stone.

“Not bad, eh?” He said, holding the sword.

“Man, this is awesome.” Cu said. He took the sword and started inspecting it. “I can’t believe this is so nicely done.”

“Well, for the money we paid, I expect nothing less. Do you think she’ll like it?”

“She’ll love it. Even I am amazed by this.”

Cu offered the sword to Rin and she almost dropped it, not expecting so much weight. The sword handlewas gold and blue and the pattern spread on the whole blade.  She couldn’t stop admiring it.

“Ah, this is really amazing. Is it functional?” She asked, not taking eyes from it.

“It’s up for debate.” Archer sighed. “The law doesn’t really let us have it completely functional, but hey, you can reach high shelves with it, so I guess it is.”

“So it’s only for looking?”

“Knowing the person who will receive it, I highly doubt that.” Cu laughed. He took the sword from Rin and threw it towards Archer who wasn’t expecting it but still caught it.

“Stop throwing swords in my house.” He glared at Cu who was grinning.

“And when you do it it’s fine?”

“And just when did I do that?”

“Two years ago, your welcome party. One and a half year ago, you and your tiny friend had a duel. Nine months ago-“

“Okay, okay I get the point. Still, no throwing swords anymore.”

After admiring it for a bit longer, they finally sat down for tea. Well, more like Rin sat down for tea. Archer was showing to Cu the damage he did to the TV.

“And as you can see, there’s no fixing it.” He finished.

“Tough luck.” Cu said, rubbing his neck.

“Don’t you ‘tough luck’ me. This is your fault.”

“Well, what do you want me to do?” Cu defended himself.

“Why don’t you two just buy a new one? I’m just saying.” Rin shrugged quickly noticing the annoyed look Archer gave her, “if it’s not fixable, throw it in the trash and buy a new one.”

“Throw it in the trash? After all the things I did for it?” Archer asked not wanting to believe what he just heard.

“Just let it go, Archer. Let it go.” She said.

“Yeah, she’s right.” Cu said. “It has been a fun ride, but maybe you should think about getting a new one.”

Archer slumped in defeat.

“Fine, I’ll go tomorrow to look for some new models. But I’m not throwing this in the trash.”

“It’s not fixable, Archer.” Rin stated firmly.

“You don’t know—“

“You don’t know until you try, right? Well, you tried, too much.” Rin stood up and approached the TV. “Rest in peace, ye old TV. I barely knew thee, but you were always a broken piece of junk.”

Cu was giggling in the background, more at Archer’s dejected look of pity, than at Rin’s words. The whole scene was hilarious to him.

“Throw it out first thing in the morning, before we go looking for new one.” She said, turning back to her armchair.

“Wait, you’re coming with me?” Archer asked, surprised.

“Of course, because if I don’t, you’ll just buy new parts for this one.”

“Fine, fine, glad to see you trust me.”

“As much as you trust me with your belongings.” She said delightfully.

He glared at her for a moment, then, deciding there’s no good comeback he huffed and went back to the couch.

“Walked right into that one.” He muttered, sitting down.

They sat in silence for couple of minutes, quietly sipping tea. Then Cu suddenly stood up, looking at the clock.

“Well, time for me to go. If I remember correctly, a princess is waiting for me to show up on a white horse and sweep her from her feet.”

“Picking her up from work, eh?” Archer smirked.

“Or you could say it that way. Nice meeting you, Rin-chan, but I must go now.” Cu said, extending his hand to Rin. She smiled and took it.

“Likewise. And please do knock next time; otherwise you will spend the night in jail.” She said sweetly.

“Yikes, she really is scary when she smiles like that.” He said to Archer, who was, to their surprise, beaming proudly.

When Cu left, the two of them were finally alone.

“So, what’s the deal with him?” Rin suddenly asked.

“What do you mean?”

“Well he has a key to this apartment. Why?”

“Oh. Well, there are three keys to this apartment in existence. One is mine, second is yours.”

“And third is his?” She looked at him puzzled.

“The third belongs to the landlady.” He smiled.

“So… He can come in as he pleases?” She frowned.

“The landlady is his mother.”

“Yes, I know, but—Oh, so he is the…” She asked, surprised.

“Yes.”

“Well, disregarding first impression, he does seem like a nice guy.”

“Oh, he is, it’s just that trouble finds him often. But he is nice and loyal friend. Trust me, if something happens, it’s good to have him by your side. Quite reliable when need be.”

She smiled.

“That is certainly quite different from the first impression”

“Well, I told you thousands of times by now you shouldn’t take people at hearts value, didn’t I?” He grinned and skillfully evaded one of the pillows thrown in his direction. “In any case, if something happens to me and I don’t live here anymore, don’t worry, he and his mother will take good care of you.”

“And what could possibly happen to you?”

“I could get hit by a car tomorrow and suddenly you’ll be left without a roommate.”

“If only I was that blessed,” she said as he sighed. Rin changed the topic. “Anyway, are you tired?”

“Not really, why? Need help with something?”

“Well I was thinking, since you have time today, we could clean this mess of apartment, thoroughly.”

“I guess. I’m not really tired so we could, yeah. Oh, this reminds me, I’ll be right back”

Saying that, he disappeared outside only to return with a rolled carpet on his shoulder couple of minutes later.

“I figured while I was out shopping I might as well get a new carpet.”

“What? You just… bought a new carpet?”

“Not… really.” He said.

“You didn’t steal it from someone?”

“I stopped by our nice landlady and she gave me a new one. I told her the previous one got burned by fire.”

Rin laughed. Cu’s mother was truly a nice lady. They moved the furniture and couple of minutes later they had a very beautiful, brand new carpet.

“This looks nice. Now living room isn’t that empty anymore.” She said, grinning.

“I agree. It’s amazing how one carpet can make a room much better.”

“This means no more tea cups on the floor. No,” she raised a finger at his protesting look. “I want this carpet to last and not be stained.”

“What? But it can be washed, you know?”

“I am not doing that.”

“Fine, fine, I’ll try” He said, and then continued in a mumble, “not to let you see. Well then. I’ll take the kitchen, you clean the living room?”

“Deal.”

They soon started working. Archer was humming in the kitchen, cleaning and sorting the dishes. Rin was cheerfully cleaning the dust from the shelf and the fireplace. After that, she sorted the books that were just put on the shelf, putting them in their respective places, careful not to disrupt the strict order in which they have been for so long. She cleaned the windows and pulled the curtains, letting the sun into the living room. All in all, cleaning the living room wasn’t that much of a work and after an hour, she turned around to see a much cleaner living room, full of brightness and lively.

Suddenly a voice echoed from the kitchen.

“Rin, did you maybe, by any chance, make takoyaki recently?”

“Yes, I did it yesterday, why?” She yelled from the living room, not in the mood to walk to where Archer was.

Her reply met silence. She decided to press on.

“Could it be you’re jealous I made takoyaki?”

As there was no reply she gave up and closed her eyes. Rin wasn’t a person who napped in the afternoon, but the opportunity was too good to pass. If she could just close her eyes for a second…

“I’ve been thinking,” a voice startled her and she almost cried out. She turned around to see Archer leaning on the armchair, holding the pan in his hand and staring at her.

“Wait, did I scare you?” He changed the topic seeing her reaction.

“Why do you make no sound when walking? It’s what normal people do.”

“I wasn’t aware of it.” He continued to stare at her.

“Ah, never mind, maybe what happened today took a toll on me.” She decided to change the topic. Somewhere in the back of her mind she made a note to buy him a small bell to wear around the neck when she’s out next time. “So, what did you want?”

“I was thinking of throwing this pan out. It’s way past its use and we can buy a new one if you feel like making takoyaki again.”

“Oh, well, I don’t think I’ll make it anytime soon. Do whatever you want.”

“Huh, okay, I see.” He turned around and inspected the pan a bit more closely. “So they didn’t turn out well.”

“What?!” She turned towards him, leaning on the armchair.

“Well, seeing how you’re so eager to throw out the pan and not make it that often, I believe you’re bad at takoyaki.” He said, nonchalantly inspecting the pan further.

“I am not! I make a delicious takoyaki, thank you very much.”

He shrugged. For some reason, it annoyed her more than anything else he did for all the time and she snatched the pan from his hands.

“You are not going to throw it out! I forbid you to throw it out!”

He made a gesture towards the pan but she refused to give it to him.

“Well, it’s not like your takoyaki would taste better in a new pan.” He smirked.

She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. He was openly mocking her and it made her so angry she just couldn’t find any words to reply.

And then it all clicked.

“Archer, is this because of the TV?”

“No, this is a simple observation based on your behavior towards this pan,” came the calculated reply.

“You’re sulking.”

“What? No I’m not, I am just throwing a pan out.”

“Yes you are.” She grinned. “You don’t like that I attacked your TV. Or, could it be… Are you maybe sulking because I didn’t cook for you?”

“…I am not.”

“I can’t believe it, you are!” She started laughing. “You are such a baby!”

“I, wait, I am not—“  

“They are in the fridge.” Rin was smiling now; as much as this was amusing, it looked like it was plain torture for this man. “I put a bit in the fridge, because I figured you might want to try it.”

Archer was looking at her for couple of moments, but then suddenly he smiled and shook his head. He took the pan from her.

“I still need to throw this. I should’ve warned you it’s unusable.”

Without waiting for her reply he went outside with it. She watched him go, and then come back.

“The trashcan—“ she started, stifling a laugh.

“Is in the kitchen. Yeah, I know,” he muttered as he passed through the living room towards the kitchen.

Rin settled back in her armchair again, waiting for him to come back. However, he didn’t come back immediately.

When he emerged from the kitchen, it was as if nothing happened; he was back to his usual self. Rin decided to change the topic and pointed at the bulky item that was in the middle of the living room.

 “Now let’s see where we’ll put that sword.”

“Rin, we can’t really move it. It’s too heavy.” Archer sighed.

“But we can’t leave it there!”

“We have to.  There’s no way we can move it ourselves.” He pushed it couple of times, but it didn’t even budge.

“Fine, then we shall move the TV.”

“Do we really have to?” He made a sad face at her.

“Yes.” She said firmly.

“Fine, I’ll move it to my room. Is that okay?”

“Why don’t you want to throw it?” She suddenly asked. He was unusually attached to the TV. Was it so hard to admit defeat? “Why are you so persistent with fixing it?”

He looked at her as if she was asking something plain obvious.

“Because broken things can be fixed.”

“Not all broken things, Archer.”

“Well, most of the broken things,” he replied, and then continued in an even voice as if reciting a rule from a book. “As long as you don’t give up on them, broken things have value. You shouldn’t give up on a thing just because it’s broken. In fact, that’s more of a reason to fix it.”

She went silent. Suddenly, he walked to the back of the living room, took the TV and carried it outside. After deciding for a bit, she stood up, too and ran to the living room.

“One day.” She said when he was at the door.

“What?”

“Try fixing it tonight. Give it one more night. If you can’t fix it, then you have to admit it is for trash and throw it away. If you fix it, you can do with it whatever you want.”

He stared at her and then slowly returned the TV to its place in the corner.

“I will fix it.” He said, more to himself than to her.

She smiled and put a pair of rubber gloves in his hand.

“Bathroom.” She said, taking a cloth and going to her room to clean.

*   *   *

“Now, what do you think of this one?”

Rin was pointing at a large LCD TV in the middle of the store. Archer was couple of steps away, sulking.

“Isn’t that one a bit big for the living room? Also, while we’re at it, isn’t that one also expensive?”

“It’s okay,” Rin smiled, “I’m paying for half of it, you know.”

“Right, I forget your parents are rich,” Archer muttered. “Anyway, even if we do take it, it’s too big for the living room. The picture will be all blurry and we’ll be standing too close to it. This TV is for large rooms. If you would just let me-“

“You threw it into garbage this morning. That’s it, Archer. It’s gone.” Rin said, inspecting a small portable TV that was on one of the shelves. Maybe she could buy something like this, too. She dismissed the idea as unnecessary pretty quickly.

“Because you insisted. I was so close last night to fixing it.”

“What do you mean last night? It was six in the morning. I had to get up because you were making such a noise. Do you ever sleep?”

He continued sulking, not really paying attention to the electronics around them. She sighed.

“Look, Archer, either you help me with this, or you go home. You have been sulking whole morning.”

“First of all, I am not sulking.” He turned to face her, getting into his lecture mode in an instant.

“You refuse to cooperate and all because your pride has been hurt.”

“Second,” he continued as if not hearing her, “if I go now, you will have to pay for the TV by yourself, and bring it home by yourself. You will also have to walk all the way back, since it is my car that we’re using.”

“Whatever, if you’re not leaving then help me pick a new TV.” She said, now inspecting a smaller TV. “How about this one? The price is acceptable, too.”

It seemed that Archer gave up in the end, and approached her. No matter how much he didn’t want it, she was determined to buy a new TV and it was going to happen, one way or another.

_I might as well have some say in all this and prevent her from making a mistake._ He thought as he watched her inspecting the TVs without really knowing what to look for.

Even though he was sulking whole morning, he did pay close attention to what was happening in the store. Of course, it’s something she didn’t need to know. He did learn couple of things while here.

First, Rin had not even the smallest knowledge about technology.

Second, her parents spoiled her greatly, the money in her purse being the evidence.

Third and the most alarming thing which he suspected for quite some time now, Tohsaka Rin was a big spender and had no idea how to save money.

He sighed and looked around the store once more. Nearly all the TVs she picked were utterly expensive and full of features that they didn’t need. Why does she need a USB port? And there was absolutely no need for connecting the computer to TV, given as they had a DVD player, which was somewhere in his room, if he remembered correctly. It was also broken, to his great dismay.

Archer bent over a smaller TV, which was near the one she was showing him. It was almost the same quality as the one she picked, except without all those stupid add-ons and therefore much cheaper.

“Rin, this one is totally okay for the living room.”

“Hmm, you think so? But the ones I have at house are much bigger.”

“And they are also put on the wall and there’s a bigger distance between them and the chairs, right?”

“Err, yeah,” she said, realizing finally what he was trying to say. “Well, the price is acceptable, too, so I guess we could buy this one.”

“Okay, good. Can you take care of it for me? I’ll be right back.” Archer said, disappearing before she could protest.

“Now what is he up to?” Rin wondered, looking around. Giving up on trying to understand him, she searched for an employee who was free.

Surely enough, she didn’t have to wait too long. Truth to be told, this whole TV thing never interested her. The plan was that she just points couple of TVs until Archer stops sulking and then rely on his knowledge and just kind of roll with it. The plan worked; they got a TV, she managed to hide the fact technology was not her good point, and the universe was finally aligned correctly.

“So you’re taking this one, miss?” the clerk asked.

“Yes. The price is this one it’s written on it, right?”

“Well, it’s the last one of this model, so it has 20% discount, but that will be settled at the cash register. Now we will pack it and bring it to the cash register so you can freely browse more. When you’re done, the TV will be waiting for you.”

“Oh, I see. Thank you very much.” Rin said, and started looking at the shelves.

After a while, she got bored. As things like these never interested her, her curiosity was short-lived. She started moving through the racks looking for her roommate who has disappeared ten minutes ago.

“How can a tall man like that hide so skillfully in a store?” She muttered to herself. Archer was tall enough to be spotted anywhere in the store after searching for a short while. However, he was nowhere to be seen. _If he ditched me I am going to be really mad_ , she thought, starting to get annoyed.

Then she finally saw him. He was at the cash register, paying for a small package. She approached him just as he was finishing.

“There you are.” Rin said, inspecting the bag he was carrying now.

“Mhm. Figured you would come here once you finish browsing.”

“I was searching for you. Why didn’t you come back to where you left me?”

“I did. You weren’t there.”

“Ah,” she was silent for couple of moments. “True, we probably missed each other.”

“In any case, that’s the TV?” Archer asked, pointing at the box on the ground.

“Yes, sir.” The cashier said, smiling. “We can deliver it later to your house, if you can’t take it now. It’s free of charge.”

“Nah, we’ll take it from here.” Archer said, writing a check. He handed the bag to Rin and took the TV box. 

They loaded the stuff into the car. As she was about to enter, Rin noticed a small shop just next to the electronics one.

“Wait, I need something from there.” She said to Archer.

“Oh? Like what?”

“I need a new lamp, you know.” She said, grinning.

He chuckled.

“Yeah I can imagine. The last one is… quite unusable anymore.”

Five minutes later she came back with a new lamp. It was quite like the last one.

“Now we can go.” She said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- Things I don't know: after a lot of googling, I am still not sure what is the protocol for calling police at your house after you attacked the burglar. Except for one article that I skipped because it's about a man slashing a burglar with a katana.  
> \- Things I know: it was in 2015 that Japan finally changed their laws concerning SDF fighting in foreign countries. This changes nothing since I was planning to leave the place, time, and the events of Archer's past to your imagination. But it's a fun fact to know.  
> \- "What the hell how should I name them all? I'll just use their real names. Wait, does that mean Rider will be named Medusa and everyone would be giving her mirrors for her birthday?" Oh, yeah, Cu was named after his ancestor? Who is his mother?   
> \- Jokes aside, his mother was supposed to be Scathach, but just one glance at the original myth and you'd see why that would never happen. But I still don't know who his mother is.  
> \- Pardon the freedom of writing but if you're unconscious for more than 2-3 minutes, you go to the hospital. That's a serious brain injury and you can die. On that note, if a person is hit that hard that a lamp is all dented it begs the question how cheap the lamp is. He should've been dead. Twice.  
> \- Are they ooc? When I was writing it, I loved the chapter, but after much editing, I don't know anymore. You know how when you repeat a word so much it loses its meaning? That's how I feel at the moment.  
> \- Lancer is a recurring character and he stays and his main goal is to team up with Rin and make Archer's life miserable. Because Rin and Lancer being good friends is something the visual novel deprived me of and I am very bitter about that.  
> \- Excalibur 2.0 is highly functional. None of them bothered to look at the laws. Swords are just cool. Stay tuned for Excalibur 2.1 and 2.1.1.
> 
> P.S: I never finished last editing.


	6. The Very First Day

_I am going to sleep now. Do not even dare to make any noise until I wake up. I have a class at 8 in the morning._

“Well that is what she said last night, but should I wake her up?” Archer said glancing at the clock. It was quarter past seven in the morning and Rin was still sleeping. Knowing she shouldn’t be late on the very first day, he was debating whether he should wake her up. The problem was, concluding from the time he spent with her and got to know her, he realized there were only three scenarios how this could play out.

She would kill him if he so much as peeked into her room while she was sleeping.

She would wake up and kill him for waking her up this late.

He doesn’t do anything and she sleeps in and kills him when she wakes up.

All three scenarios weren’t good in his head.

On the other hand, her staying awake way past the bed time was his fault. He was the one who made noise until two in the morning despite the protests she made every half an hour after eleven o’clock. He ignored her, not on purpose, of course, but more because he was engrossed in the work. It wasn’t until she slammed her hand on the coffee table so hard the old DVD player slightly jumped (he was very impressed by the force) and screaming she has to get up in five hours that he finally decided it would be best to call it a day.

He sighed. She may look small and fragile, but Tohsaka Rin has been one of the scariest women he ever met.

“It’s time to take one for the team.” He said, mentally preparing for the chaos that is going to ensue.

Quietly, he walked to her room and raised his hand to knock. At the same moment the door abruptly opened and something white and black dashed right next to him.

“I’m late, I’m late, I am so late.” Rin yelled as she practically ran to the bathroom next to Archer who was still standing there with his hand raised.

Having fallen asleep at three in the morning, she overslept past the alarm clock. The panic only intensified when she glanced at the clock and realized there’s no way she’ll get ready properly and only has enough time for brushing teeth and getting dressed.

“This is your entire fault!” She yelled from the bathroom.

Archer slowly lowered his hand and looked at the bathroom door.

It took him couple of minutes to register that the white shadow that passed him was, in fact, Rin Tohsaka in a sleeping gown. Sighing in relief that the crisis may be averted at least until evening, he went to the kitchen and started making breakfast in order to placate his roommate.

The probability of her having breakfast was slim. He concluded that she won’t have time to even think of a proper breakfast, but it was the least he could do, since it has been his fault for all of this. Trying the diplomatic approach, he started remembering all the quick recipes he could use.

Rin dashed out of the bathroom, tying her hair while walking around. She was muttering things and only words he could hear were “had to be so loud” and “no respect for people”.

After fifteen minutes she put on a coat and took her bag. She had twenty minutes until first class. That should give her enough time if she hurries.

“Breakfast?” Archer asked, from the kitchen. Watching her run around the house was an amazing show. She entered her room at least five times, never finding what she was looking for. By the end, she was running in circles around the table in living room like a confused kitten.

 “It’s not lady-like to walk and eat.” She replied and left the house waving a hurried goodbye.

As she exited, she realized she stepped on something. A small empty tray was bent under her foot.

“Huh, what’s with this? Was there water in this? Seriously what is that guy doing?” She wondered, but immediately dismissed it, remembering she is late.

It was times like these that she really loved the fact how close she lived to the university building. Otherwise she wouldn’t even consider getting up after realizing how late it was. Still, she hastened her pace. There was enough time before the class even if she walked slowly, but she wanted to grab a seat in the middle.

One of the things she always hated in high school was sitting in the front row. It brought up attention which she didn’t need; being famous in Fuyuki city just for being a Tohsaka, made Rin search for seclusion, at least in first year. However, she realized it was futile. She had the highest grades, became the top student easily, and with all that came her own fame – the unreachable girl, Rin Tohsaka. The rumors just escalated from there.

One of the most ridiculous rumors she heard was that she made a third year student jump off the roof. If she remembers correctly, there wasn’t ever a case of a student jumping off the roof in the school at all.

Sighing at the gloomy parts of her high school past, she almost ran to school. _It actually sounds ridiculous and funny now that I graduated._

Rin arrived at her destination just in time. Catching her breath she looked around the lecture hall. Most of the seats were taken. She frowned. This was bad. At this rate she really is going to sit in front and that was the worst possible scenario that could play out. Oh, how she hated Mondays!

“I think I see a free seat there in the back.” Rin mumbled to herself, even though she wasn’t really sure of it.

Luckily, she was right. The back rows weren’t filled out and there was plenty of free space there. Picking the seat that was a bit away from a pretty loud group of students, she dropped her bag on the floor next to it.

“Yo, Tohsaka, mind if I sit next to you? In exchange for a coffee, of course.”

Rin turned around to see Mitsuzuri smiling at her, holding two cups of coffee. She offered Rin a cup, which she took and made room for Mitsuzuri to reach her seat.

“I saw couple of empty seats at the front,” Mitsuzuri said, making herself comfortable and putting the bag on the desk, “but then I concluded you would probably be somewhere in the back, trying to not gather attention. That’s when I saw you and decided to bother you for two hours. It’s obvious you heed my advices.”

“It’s pure luck.” Rin sipped her coffee thoughtfully, disregarding the last part of what she heard.

“It’s that red coat, Tohsaka. It stands out too much.”

“I like this coat.”

“Well, then understand people will see you from miles away.”

Rin shrugged. “It doesn’t bother me too much. Oh, look, here comes Emiya-kun.”

The two girls watched as Shirou entered the lecture hall. He stood in the middle, catching his breath, and then carefully looked around searching for a free seat.

“Is there any empty seat anymore?” Rin murmured. Suddenly she grabbed Mitsuzuri and pulled her down.

“What was that for?!” Mitsuzuri asked, glaring at Rin.

“If Emiya-kun sees us he will come here to sit.” Rin said, not noticing the attention she was getting from the two rows in front of her. “You are to stay like this. I wanna see how this plays out.”

“Yes, yes, I understand, but honestly, look; he’s really struggling to find an empty seat. There’s still some left near the door.” Mitsuzuri said nodding her head in Shirou’s direction.

Indeed, Shirou was standing in the middle of the room, not knowing what to do. Rin lowered herself even more, pulling annoyed Mitsuzuri with her.

“Stop pulling me, Tohsaka. Let me go, I can do it by myself.”

“You’re too slow.” Rin said, now glaring at Shirou. “Look at him. Now I feel sorry for him a little.”

She pulled out her phone and started typing.

“What are you doing?” Mitsuzuri peeked curiously at Rin’s phone.

“What does it look like? I’m writing a text.”

“To whom?”

“What do you think?” Rin nodded in Shirou’s direction. “There, text sent. Now look, Mitsuzuri.”

Mitsuzuri looked at Shirou, who took his phone out, sighed in resignation, and took the first available seat in front.

“Hehe, this is much better.” Rin grinned. She finally let go of Mitsuzuri and straightened up in her seat.

“What did you send him?” Mitsuzuri asked. Rin handed her the phone.

“ _Have I ever told you about that dumb face you make when you’re utterly confused? Third row, seventh seat from the left is still empty._ Geez, Tohsaka, you didn’t have to send this.”

“You don’t know him. He’s very dense. Anyway, smile and wave, Mitsuzuri, he’s looking at us.” Rin said, beaming at her friend in the third row.

“You really like teasing him, don’t you? There’s no way you could’ve seen his face from here.” Mitsuzuri was waving back.

“Well we have been friends throughout high school. I instinctively know what kind of face he makes in situations like these.”

“Why are you even friends with him, then? You two don’t even seem to have anything in common.”

Rin looked at Mitsuzuri, surprised. “Make no mistake, Mitsuzuri. Emiya Shirou might be with his head in the clouds, but he is very adaptive and is anything but dumb. There was plenty of time I was saved thanks to his quick thinking.”

“Huh, so he is actually very complex and a good ally…” Mitsuzuri trailed off.

“That’s what I’ve been telling you for a year now. Anyway, can I have my phone back now? Wait, what are you doing?”

Mitsuzuri not only didn’t have the intention of giving back Rin’s phone, but she was now going through her texts.

“Come on, give me a break. I just want to see something.” She said, skimming quickly through it, knowing that she has only moments before Rin wrestled the phone out of her hands.

“You just want to access my privacy, don’t you? Give it back.” Rin reached for her phone, but Mitsuzuri just switched hands and continued searching. “This is illegal.”

“No, wait, I just want to see what you two talk about.”

“Hah, good luck with that.” Rin smirked, and let Mitsuzuri do what she pleases.

“Amazing… not a single text… How is this possible?”

“He isn’t really a conversational type. By the way, you just had to ask about it and I’d tell you.”

Mitsuzuri dejectedly returned the phone.

“Fine, what do you two talk about?”

“What we want for dinner, who washes the dishes, you know, the usual.” Rin concluded, shrugging.

“Are you telling me he is that boring?”

“He’s not boring, we just don’t talk much. As I said, he’s not really a conversational type.”

“You never asked him if he has any war stories? Also I don’t believe you that he’s not a conversational type.”

“No, I haven’t.” Rin said, and then fell into silence for couple of seconds. “Honestly, he doesn’t seem like he likes talking about himself. Speaking of that, I will pay you back for what you did to me. Your theories have cost me a new carpet.”

“I did something to you? Wait, what do you mean by a carpet?”

But Rin couldn’t reply to this question, because at that moment the door opened and a tall man entered the lecture hall. Silence fell instantly.

Despite him being labeled as the worst human being that Rin had known in her life, she had to admit that Kotomine Kirei was a very good teacher and she found herself enjoying the introduction to the subject. He was strict, merciless, and it took only fifteen minutes for Rin to conclude Kotomine Kirei is going to be the most hated teacher in the first year. Still, two hours passed like it’s nothing, and Kotomine, after silently closing his bag and half the way to the door, turned towards the students.  

“And that concludes today’s lesson. May we see each other next week at the same time.”

And with that, Kotomine exited the lecture hall. They all stared at him leaving; not a single student processed the fact that the lecture was over and that they were free to go. Couple of moments later some tentatively stood up, watching the door carefully in fear that he may come back any second. Seeing how he wasn’t coming back, students finally started leaving. Rin turned to Mitsuzuri.

“Do we have anything else today?” She asked, rubbing her temples.

“Hmmm, let me see…” Mitsuzuri checked her timetable. “We have world history, but they said that the professor is absent for personal reasons, so we’re basically free. Her assistant is absent too so we have the day off now.”

“Thank god, I just got the worst headache from this guy.” Rin sighed.

“I don’t think he was that bad, Tohsaka.” Shirou joined the conversation

“Well, I will admit that the lecture was amazing, but the way he treated those guys… awful…” Rin replied, sighing once more. “I think we should all just suck it up and hope for the best.”

They exited the building and sat at the edge of the beautiful fountain in front of it. Lots of other students were also sitting there, enjoying the sun that was peeking from behind the clouds from time to time.

“Ah, this is the perk of having classes so early” Mitsuzuri yawned, stretching under the sun.

“Simply beautiful” Shirou said, closing his eyes looking as if he was taking in as much warmth as possible.

They all sighed in content and sat there in silence, with their eyes closed.

“I just wish summer would come already,” Rin whispered. They all nodded.

They all continued to bask in the winter sun thinking about pools, and beaches and swimsuit.

“Oi, you lot there, don’t even think about making a mess. I just cleaned that part.”

Everyone who heard this, mainly the unsuspecting group at the fountain, will for years after confirm that this sentence sprung a whole chain of events that will be told for years to come at this university.

No one expecting this voice out of nowhere, the group basking in the sun reacted instinctively. Shirou abruptly opened his eyes seeing a male gazing at him intently with a frown on his face. Backing away, the boy realized there’s no wall behind him, only water – cold, dirty water.

In an instant he grabbed Rin’s coat trying to keep his balance. Mitsuzuri, realizing what is going to happen, skillfully grabbed Shirou’s arm keeping him in place as he desperately clung to both the coat and the girl helping him.

They heard a scream and a sound of water splashing.

Shirou was sitting on the edge of the fountain clinging to Ayako. They both didn’t dare to look at the fountain, where Tohsaka Rin was sprawled in the water, unable to do anything. The man who approached them was still standing there with his arm reaching towards Rin.

She looked at him, and finally recognized the source of the trouble.

“Why the hell are you here?!” Rin yelled from the fountain.

“Tohsaka, are you alright?” Shirou asked, quickly offering his hand to her. She took it clumsily, and slipped again into the fountain. Not paying attention to the now alarmed Shirou who was still reaching out to her, she looked at the cause of all this ruckus, now crouching at the edge of the fountain, trying to stifle a laugh.

"Cu, what are you doing here?" Not getting out of the fountain she addressed the man.

"Me? I work here." He stated.

"Tohsaka, get out of the water, it's cold." Mitsuzuri and Shirou were now trying to make her get out. There was a group of students gathered around them now, wondering what was the commotion about.

"Ah, the first years have already started trouble." They could hear the students muttering.

She once again ignored them for the favor of the man, who, now that she looked clearly, carried a broom around with him.

"You... work here?" She asked once again.

"Yeah, I am the janitor here and you guy looked like you were making a mess so..." Cu started explaining but it seemed he couldn't hold it anymore. He let out a hearty laugh looking at her. "Oh boy, you should see how miserable you are right now."

A look of surprise and horror crossed his face when he realized that pointing a finger at Tohsaka Rin was the worst idea ever. In one swift motion she took his hand and pulled him towards her.

Everyone watched in shock.

"What did you do that for?" Cu screamed at her, now soaked in cold water.

"Now we're even." She said, finally standing up. "Thank god I left my bag next to me otherwise I would've killed you right here and now."

"Tohsaka, it's cold, let's get you somewhere warm." Mitsuzuri said.

"No, I am going home now." She said, taking her bag. "And you," she pointed towards Cu, "Don’t you dare insult me ever again."

"Wait, how is this my fault? He pulled you into the fountain. How was I supposed to know you would be scared?!" He yelled pointing at Shirou.

"Whatever, I need to dry myself up." She said, waving a goodbye to the stunned group she left behind.

Shirou, still stunned, managed a meek goodbye, while Mitsuzuri helped Cu get out of the fountain.

After a hundred meters or so, Rin heard someone calling to her.

"Hey, hey, wait up."

Cu soon caught up to her, grinning widely.

"Aren't you supposed to be working?" She asked.

"Can't work soaked like this. Mind if I escort you to your home?"

She looked at him suspiciously. "What for?"

"To borrow some clothes, what else?" He sighed. "Oh my, if I knew you were such a pain in the butt I would've never approached you."

"Speaking of which, why are you working there? Also, my clothes are a bit small for you, you know."

"Ah, I get bored too easily, so I guess having a job for now won't hurt. I will be going soon, I suppose, and by soon I mean in a month or two. And I wasn't planning on taking your clothes, silly, but your roommates."

"Oh, I see. But, why as a janitor? And what if he isn't home?" She asked, removing her scarf.

"I don't think any other job is as exciting as that one. Where else could you see Ol’ Kotomine dismissing a bunch of students because the Sociology teacher complained she won’t have enough students and might shut down her class? It's not about the money; I earn enough while being at sea. Then I'll just take it and tell him when I see him. It's an emergency." He smiled once again.

“Yeah, what a great way to start a day – with an emergency.” Rin sighed.

"Oh, we're nearly there. Look how time flies when you have company— wait."

He put one hand in front of her and motioned towards the big tree next to a fence for them to hide.

Rin looked at him curiously but he just put his finger on his lips and pointed towards her house. Following his gaze, she let a tiny gasp of surprise.

Archer was sitting in front of the house, holding something looking like a plate. Rin recognized it as the one she stepped on that morning.

"What's he doing?" She asked, but Cu shook his head.

"I don’t know, but I am planning to find out."

She continued to watch. After couple of seconds, something appeared out of the hedge surrounding the neighboring house. Looking a bit carefully, she realized it was a small kitten. It happily ran towards the man.

Archer put the item he was holding on the ground.

"Eat." He said, nudging the tray towards the animal.

The kitten sniffed the tray a bit and looked at the man, letting out a tiny meow. The man scratched the tiny creature's head a bit, smiling softly.

"It's not poison, it's milk. Now eat."

As if understanding him, the kitten started eating happily. Rin giggled.

Archer suddenly turned towards the tree she and Cu were hiding by, frowning slightly. Cu pushed her a bit behind. Probably deciding it was nothing, Archer turned his attention back to the animal.

"Shhh, I don't want him to see us." Cu hissed.

"I know, I know, but this is amazing." Rin said, still giggling. She shivered as a slight breeze started.

"I know, right, blackmail material." Cu said mischievously.

"But, you know, it's really cold and—“

She suddenly sneezed.

Once again Archer turned towards their hiding spot. He sat like that for a moment or two, and just as he was finally deciding it was something else, Rin sneezed again.

"Oh, no," she mumbled, "I got a cold."

As if not leaving anything to chance, Archer picked up the tray and the kitten and went inside with both.

"Do you think he noticed us?" Rin asked, trying to stop the next sneeze.

"I... don't know," Cu frowned. "In any case, I don't think he'd dwell on it. Now, come on, let's get you warm."

They left their hideout and entered the house.

"I'm home," Rin said, shivering slightly.

Archer was sitting on the couch, TV turned on. He raised a hand in greeting.

"Yo," said Cu. "I'm here just for a minute, got any clothes to borrow?"

"Yeah, I'll bring them to y—what on earth happened to you two?" Archer finally looked at them both and seeing them all wet, stood up.

Rin shot a nasty glance towards Cu. "This guy thought it would be fun to push me into a fountain so I did the same to him." She sniffed.

"You know, I noticed you change the story bit by bit, every time you retell it." Cu said.

"That's what happened." She said. She wanted to continue the story but suddenly she couldn't hold it anymore. Once again, she sneezed.

Archer frowned.

_Oh no, oh no, he's going to realize we were hiding behind the tree! He'll find out._

However, whether he realized or not, she couldn't tell. He reached to her and pulled a leaf from her hair, which, to her utter horror, she recognized belonged to their hiding spot. He inspected it for a bit and threw it away.

"You should change into warm clothes, Rin, before you catch a cold." He told her making his way towards his room. Cu was squeezing his hair and clothes to get rid of excess water.

"Tohsaka." She said, sniffing and leaving towards her room. She turned towards Cu. “Don’t do that on the carpet. It’s new.”

She heard Archer go and retrieve the clothes for Cu and them chatting in the living room. Taking off her clothes, she suddenly felt a wave of tiredness. Barely mustering the strength to dress into new clothes, she slumped onto the bed.

"Maybe a short nap would do me good." She said, closing her eyes for a second.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah man... this was... the worst break I ever took. I had some really big irl issues I needed to get done and I hope that's all in the past.  
> It's not in the past. I sacrificed my sleep (only 3 hours left) for this and I am actually posting only first half of the next chapter, because that's how much I managed to will myself to edit, and man, there were some nasty changes here.  
> My initial plan was to put Sakura going with all of them to school, but 8 chapters into the story (yes I have about 9-10 chapters written so far I just decided not to post them all at once) I changed my mind, so every chapter, I scan the document 3 times for every mention of her that isn't consistent with current story.  
> Second change is that I was supposed to write whole interaction with Kotomine. I didn't like how I wrote it so I just decided to kill it.  
> And that's it. It has been a long couple of months, but I think I will be able to post the chapters regularly. No, wait, one more irregular chapter is coming - I will post the second half of this chapter tomorrow.  
> And yeah I kinda checked the inbox, and comments made me happy, I just kept saying I'll answer later, and then I would work on other stuff and forget. It happens...
> 
> Anywho, I ramble a lot. Enjoy this chapter, and see you tomorrow! *has flashback of the second half needing serious edit*


	7. The Very First Day - Part 2

A loud knock on her door woke her up abruptly. Startled, she tried to get up, but couldn't find the strength for it.

"Ugh, just go away, let me sleep." She mumbled into the pillows.

"Rin, it's past eight in the evening, and you haven't come out of your room. Are you okay?"

_Yeah, I'm fine, just a little tired. Let me sleep._

"Rin."

 _How, what, didn't I say that out loud?_ She thought.

"Go away." she finally managed to speak.

The knocking stopped. Apparently, he was satisfied with the notion that she's alive and decided to drop the matter.

_I should go to the living room. He shouldn't know I'm sick, otherwise he'll know we spied on him. Huh, why did we spy on him, and who's "we"? Wasn’t that a dream?_

She managed to get up and soon left her room. Archer was nowhere to be seen. She sat on one of the armchairs with a loud sigh. Even this short walk exhausted her.

"Ah, there you are."

She heard Archer closing the door to his room.

"Yeah, I felt a bit tired."

"I see. You slept for at least eight hours, Rin, are you alright?"

"It's Tohsaka." She mumbled into the armchair.

"Huh, if you have energy to say those things then you're probably okay." He said, annoyed.

"Hey, Archer."

"Hm?"

"Can you make me some tea?"

"Huh? What's with that? Err, sure."

He disappeared into the kitchen.

 _Now, I can relax._ She thought, closing her eyes again.

"Rin!" A loud voice suddenly woke her up.

_Crap, how long was I asleep?_

She felt a hand on her forehead.

"Rin, you're burning."

"Nonsense, I fell in love at campus and this is just the passion of young love."

"Yeah, you totally convinced me with that one. I’m not that dense. You need to go to bed."

"I'm fine." She said weakly, not trying to resist the tiredness that got hold of her once more.

"No you're not. Hey, don't fall asleep here. Come on..."

But what he wanted to say never reached her ears as she drifted to sleep for the third time that day.

* * *

When she woke up next day, she found herself in her bed, covered with blankets.

"Huh, when did I..." She said, rubbing her head. The headache she got during the night hasn't gone away. It also made her have unpleasant dreams which were disconnected and didn't make her feel rested at all.

She didn't remember how she got back to her bed, nor did she have strength to think about it at the moment. She felt cold, tired, and irritated. Having enough of looking at the ceiling she turned her head to the right and noticed a strange bottle that wasn't left there by her, with a note attached to it.

" _Drink this when you wake up. I'll be back by noon_ "

"Huh, what time is it?"

She glanced at the small clock on the nightstand next to the bottle. It took her couple of moments to see the small numbers. Her vision was blurry and thought process very slow. Finally she was able to distinguish the hands of the analogue clock. It was half past eleven.

"Oh, no, I missed my class..." She groaned and slumped back onto bed. The clock fell on the floor.

She wanted to go back to sleep, anything to make the headache gone. But she couldn't. Her throat felt very dry.

"Archer! No, wait, he doesn't know I'm sick. There's no helping it, I'll just go get a glass of water myself."

She sat upright on the bed and felt her head spin. She took a deep breath and stood up. Immediately she felt her legs grow weak and had to hold onto the night stand for balance.

Somehow, holding onto the furniture, she managed to reach the door. She opened it after taking couple of seconds to prepare for the trip to obtain a glass of water. Suddenly, she heard a faint noise, almost like a cat meowing, from Archer's room.

"Eh, he's here? Ugh, why didn't he respond when I called him?" She mumbled irritably.

Rin approached his room and heard the noise again. She knocked, but there was no response. Leaning against the door she continued to knock for some time. Finally, giving up, she opened it.

There, in the middle of the room, was a cat, sitting idly. Upon seeing Rin the animal eagerly ran towards her hoping to get attention.

"Oh, it's just a cat. Never mind, I'll come back later." She said, closing the door into animal's face.

By the time she reached the kitchen she regained her balance and whispered triumphantly. However, as she took a glass, it promptly slipped from her hand and fell to the floor, shattering into tiny pieces.

"Oh, no, I broke it. I should clean this mess." She said, turning around looking for a broom.

She heard a noise from the living room. Someone entered the house.

"Rin, are you awake? Your door is open."

"Yeah, I am," she said, but she wasn't sure if the person heard her.

Archer entered the kitchen.

"Wait, what are you doing here?"

"Cleaning up the mess, what else?"

"Rin, go back to bed, you're in no condition to walk." He said, this time with more worry.

"Nah, I'm fine, I just want a glass of water."

He approached her in two steps and took the broom out of her hands. Placing it next to the counter, he took a glass and filled it with water.

"Here. Try not to break this one, too."

"Thanks." She gulped the water quickly and held it up to him. "One more."

He obliged.

As she was drinking her second glass, he put his hand on her forehead once again.

"Huh, your fever hasn't gone down. Did you drink the medicine I left you?"

"What medicine?" She asked, holding the glass at her mouth.

He sighed. "The medicine I bought for you, last night. Did you even read the note I left you?"

"Ah yes. You said you'd be back by noon."

"You didn't drink the medicine."

Still holding the glass on her lips Rin shook her head. Archer sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. She gave him the glass back.

"Thanks for the water."

"Okay, off to bed with you. Wait, are you barefoot?" He asked, looking down at her feet. She nodded.

Mumbling something, he picked her up before she even had a chance to protest, and carried her to her room. As he put her on the bed, she frowned at him.

"I could've walked by myself."

"There was glass everywhere and this was faster. Now, stop picking a fight and drink this." He said, handing her the medicine he bought.

Soon she was back under the blankets. Making sure she won't try to get up anymore, Archer stood up and walked towards the door.

"Archer."

"Hm?"

"Where were you today?"

"I was working."

"You have a job?"

"Yeah, I have to have a job, Rin, so I can pay bills."

"Where do you work?"

"Go to sleep, Rin."

"It's Tohsaka."

As he closed the door she called out to him once more.

"Archer, wait."

"What?" He opened the door, annoyed.

"Thanks."

There was a moment of pause.

"Yeah, no problem."

Rin watched the closed door for couple of minutes and then closed her eyes, drifting into sleep. 

*   *   *

She woke up three hours later, to the smell of cooked food. Her stomach growled in response. Her fever was gone, and headache too, although she still felt weak. She remembered partially of her previous adventure and how hard it was to walk to the kitchen.

"That's right, Archer carried me back... Oh no." She mumbled to herself and hid her face in embarrassment.

A soft knock echoed through the room. Not having time to think she hid under the blankets and closed her eyes. She heard the door open.

"Rin, are you awake?"

She lay still in her bed, hoping he'll go away if she pretends to sleep. A nice smell of cooked dinner reached her and she could hear her stomach protesting yet again.

"Rin, I know you're awake, I can hear your stomach from here."

"No you can't!" She sat upright in her bed, blushing furiously.

Archer raised an eyebrow.

"A-and I was sleeping, you woke me up." She finished, looking at her hands.

"Right. So, are you hungry?" He asked, dropping the matter completely.

"Yeah, a bit." She nodded.

"Ah, thought so. I'll bring you some soup." He turned to leave.

"Wait, I feel a lot better, I can eat in the kitchen." She said, standing up and following him.

"I see the medicine has worked. To be honest, I was worried; if the fever didn't let go, I would've called a doctor or something." He said, relief all over his face.

 _Was he that worried about me?_ She wondered. Then she thought a bit logically. Of course he was, everyone would be worried if they see someone sick. _At least he doesn’t lack empathy._

"Well, in any case, it worked, so yeah, I'm all fit to go." She said, trying to walk past him. He put his arm in front of her.

"Hold it. Where do you think you're going?" He said.

"To eat. Where would I go? Look, I'm fine now."

"And that's the medicine making you feel better. It doesn't mean you should run around like an excited puppy."

"No, I honestly feel better. And, if I remember correctly, I took it only once; this is my body's natural response."

"You took it three times." He said, now evidently amused.

"What?" She asked.

He sighed and took her by the shoulders slowly guiding her towards the bed.

"Last night you collapsed on the armchair so I left you there to sleep a bit while I ran to the store and bought the medicine. When I returned, I carried you to your bed and forced you to drink it. You were semi-conscious. I am not surprised you don't remember it." He explained, not hiding how much fun he had with the recent discovery.

Rin felt her face heating up on these words. _Oh no, I messed up everything._ He continued on, gleefully enjoying the expression on her face going from puzzled, to horrified, and then to sheer embarrassment.

"After that you fell asleep, but after couple of hours you woke up stating it was cold and trying to find more blankets. Luckily for you, I was awake at that hour and had to pick you up from the floor and pile up more blankets on you. Oh, I also made you drink the medicine again. You remember the third time."

She was now back in bed and he pulled the blankets on her gingerly.

"So, sit tight, and get some rest. I'll bring you the dinner in a minute."

With that, he disappeared into the kitchen.

Being alone, Rin gathered her thoughts finally. She remembered falling asleep in her room, and then waking up in the evening, to continue pretending she wasn't sick. Everything after that was blurry. She pulled the blankets over her head. He carried her, twice now! She sighed.

"Does he expect me to do the same in case he becomes sick?" She muttered to herself, pressing her eyes with her palms.

"I highly doubt it. In all the time I knew him, he was bed-ridden only once, and that was because... Let’s just say we had to tie him to the bed at the time." A voice spoke from the entrance to her room.

She turned her head towards the voice so fast she heard her neck cracking. Cu was standing at the doorway, grinning like always.

"Yo." He waved in greeting.

"What do you want?" She asked, massaging her neck.

"Just dropped by to return the clothes and used the opportunity to see how you're feeling."

"Oh, how nice of you." She replied sarcastically. "Came to see how much damage you've done. Wait a minute, how come you're not sick? We suffered through same ordeal!"

"I spent six months in colder waters than this." Cu shrugged. "Truth to be told our little swimming adventure yesterday felt like Hawaii to me."

She pouted.

"Ah, don't make a face like that. Look, I am sor—ow!" Cu retreated abruptly, rubbing his shin. Archer entered the room with a bowl on a tray.

"He's a perfect example how idiots don't catch colds." Archer sighed. Ignoring Cu's protests, he put the tray in front of Rin. "And you, don't just stand in the doorway, blocking path for people."

"I just wanted to see how she's doing, since you mentioned she got a cold. Which is NOT because of me, I am not guilty of anything. Innocent until proven wrong!"

"Yes, yes, let's just leave her alone now so she can eat and rest in peace." Archer said, skillfully shoving Cu out of Rin's room. "If you need anything just yell."

He closed the door. A moment later Cu peeked in again.

"Oh, I just forgot. Your friends asked about you, noticing that you haven't been to classes today and you're also not answering your phone. I told them you have a cold and they said they will visit you tomorrow afternoon. Bye!"

He was talking fast, resisting the hand that grabbed him by the collar and was now dragging him away. Cu finally delivered his message and closed the door with a loud thud.

Rin sighed. She was starting to feel dizzy and tired again, and couldn't think about everything that happened since she fell into the fountain. She started eating the soup in front of her. It was still hot, and it made her feel a lot better.

"And I guess after dinner, it's time to sleep." She said to herself, taking another mouthful of the dinner.

She really hated sleeping when she had cold. It was always full of awful dreams, and the headache she would have in the morning didn't help at all. Last night she even dreamed of Archer being a cat...

_You remember the third time._

That's right! She hadn't dreamed it at all. She pretended not to be sick so she wouldn’t reveal she and Cu saw the cat. That same cat was in his room!

Rin put the tray aside, stood up and ran towards the door. She opened it in one grand motion and entered the living room as pompously as her sickness allowed her.

Both Cu and Archer were looking at her, puzzled.

"You!" She pointed at Archer dramatically. "You have a cat!"

Cu looked at her in bewilderment, but soon composed himself enough to sit back and watch how the scene is going to play out. Archer, on the other hand, was a different story.

Just for an instant, she saw a hint of alarm on his face, otherwise unnoticed, for his face turned back to the usual blank expression. He didn't say anything, and just waited to see her next move.

"Well?" She asked, panting from the effort of the grand entrance.

"What?"

"Where is it?"

"Where is what?" His tone was carefully neutral.

"Don't play games with me. I saw it! In your room! It's there, isn't it!" She walked towards his door and put a hand on a door handle.

"Rin, no!” He said, now incredibly alarmed. Even Cu was now standing up, but she didn’t heed them any notice. "Whatever you do, don't open that door."

"Why? Because there may be a cat there?" She smirked. "Well, busted!"

Rin opened the door, still smirking. The moment she did that, something big and black jumped on her and losing her balance under the heavy weight she fell on the floor.

"No, it's because there's a dog there." Archer said, quickly approaching her but not daring to move the huge thing that pinned her down.

She lifted up her head and met with a big hound drooling all over her and wagging its tail playfully.

"Rin, meet Culann." He said, pointing at the dog.

"It's my dog." She heard Cu proudly claiming the ownership of the animal.

This was too much for her. Being so nervous, on the very verge to cry, she closed her eyes and rested her head on the floor. Counting to ten, she looked at Archer and then she noticed it.

"Hey, Archer."

"What?"

"Your shirt is moving." She said, grinning.

There was a silence, as Archer was left speechless at the words. A tiny meow echoed through the room.

"Busted." Rin and Cu said in unison.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- If I only knew I didn't have to edit a thing, I would've posted whole chapter.  
> \- Dog and cat... I don't know why I put them in this chapter. Look, all the chapters come from skype conversations I have with a friend and they are mostly of "what if I put them in this situation" or "oh man wait until this character shows up". I mean, I have general overview of the fic but that's it. Spot the continuity mistakes there'll be plenty I'm bad at that.  
> _ The next chapter will be a pain for me, but very enjoyable for you guys, I guess. (so much to edit)  
> \- If you ever thought "hey, isn't this person just writing this story so they could write lancer shenanigans" you would be about 80% right.


	8. A Week That Feels Like Eternity

“You have a cat in your shirt.” Rin said in a mocking tone.

With one swift move, Archer pulled the dog by the collar to free Rin, not once removing his other hand from the place. There was a moment of silence, in which they both stared at each other. Archer cleared his throat and turned away from her.

"Culann, come here." Cu called out to his enormous dog, who was now curiously staring at the other man.The animal obliged instantly.

“Are you lying to me now?” Rin asked. Archer’s face was completely devoid of any reaction, in fact, she was sure it was on purpose.

“Lie? Rin, the very notion I may have ever lied to you is ridiculous. Besides, I am a grown man, I am allowed to keep many secrets away from you. And if, by any tiny chance, or your imagination, whatever it is, I _have_ a cat, that is none of your concern at all. ” Archer replied, casually making his way to the kitchen. “Besides, no one can really have a tak with you when you have high fever.” As he closed the door, Rin looked up to Cu, who just let out a snort, shrugged, and made himself comfortable in the armchair, scratching his dog’s ears.

Rin stood up and went after Archer. She will clear up the dog mystery later, this was more important. Judging that he could hear the voices from his seat very well, Cu decided to stay comfortable.

Rin opened the door in time to see Archer putting the kettle on the stove. She smiled.

Knowing that he would take care of cat was against everything she learned about him so far. Having a pet was not something a person who considered cleaning to be a good pastime would even think about. Yet, she saw him yesterday; she saw the cat, too. The universe made a mistake and that mistake was, in her opinion, strangely adorable.

Rin walked around the table until she faced him. He glanced at her and went back to watching the kettle without a sound.

"Oh, come on, show it to me." She pressed on, trying not to burst out laughing at his behavior. Pretending a problem doesn’t exist is the first sign he’s hiding something.

"Can I make tea in peace?"

"Archer, either you take the cat out, or I will do it myself." She said.

Archer was greatly annoyed now. “Did anyone ever tell you that you become unbearable when you’re sick?"

This struck a nerve. It wouldn’t have, but for some reason, she remembered everything he did for her, even though he didn’t have to. She was angry at herself for being dependent on someone else. So she did what she knew best.

She let her anger out on someone else.

Before he realized what she was planning to do, she ran up to him and, much to his surprise, put a hand in his shirt.

"Okay, no, what are you doing, st—oh god, it's cold, your hands are cold," he yelped, trying to defend himself from her.

Not expecting the whole thing and trying to be careful not to hurt her accidentally, Archer suddenly learned an important lesson - even when sick, Rin was amazingly strong.

It was her win. But with no spoils.

There was nothing inside the shirt. He tried to remove her hand, bending towards her from the feeling of a cold hand, but she just deflected it with other hand.

And that was the end - deciding the shenanigans were over, Archer caught her free hand pulling it away and closed his other hand around the one inside his shirt. He did not pull it out.

"Rin, that's enough. Think about what you're doing right now." He said to her in a serious tone, which finally brought her to her senses.

She finally looked him in the eyes. His expression was blank, and for once, she knew she went overboard. Slowly, she lowered her gaze back to her hand, and realized how this all looked like. She could feel her face heat up and she swallowed.

In her euphoric state of finally finding one of Archer's weaknesses, she hadn't realized she crossed the border that was established the moment they decided to live together. She couldn't look him in the face again, for fear he'll see her being embarrassed. No matter how much she wanted to move her hand back, she just couldn't. Doing it would acknowledge the whole incident happened and she'd rather prolong the moment than face the consequences.

"You two are getting quite comfortable there. Should I leave?" A voice echoed from the doorway.

She felt Archer tense up a bit at those words, and quickly pulled the hand like it was burned. Everything about this was a disaster. Sure, she did start it all with good intentions, but this was not how she wanted it to end. She was just totally sure he was hiding a cat, which now sounded like the worst idea ever. Who would hide a cat in their shirt?

"Erm..." She tried to speak, but for once, Tohsaka Rin was at the loss of words. Archer let go of her hand and sighed.

"Are you sure you want to leave on this rain? You don't have an umbrella and there's a dog too." He asked Cu casually.

"Heh, I could just leave the dog, y'know." Cu drawled, yawning. "I mean, if you guys want some privacy and all." With that, he turned around and left the kitchen, apparently losing interest in how the things will proceed and being satisfied with the little jab he got to make.

"Erm..." Rin started again, unable to bear the uncomfortable silence. She still couldn't look at Archer.

"Well, now you know there's no cat." He chuckled.

Rin took couple of deep breaths and then looked up to him, finally. Then she hit him in his arm with as much force she could gather.

“It’s your fault!”

“How is this my fault?” He said, rubbing his arm. “Also, what did _I_ do to deserve this?”

“You are the biggest idiot, ever!” She said, punctuating every word with a swing of her fist, while he was trying to defend himself. Finally, he managed to get out of her reach, and she lowered her fist and looked at the ground.

"I am sorry, I went overboard, I did not think—“

"Rin, it's okay, you're just tired and sick. Sometimes… Sometimes people don’t think clearly and, well these things can happen when that time comes." Archer said, and then frowned a bit. "You do look like your fever is back."

He raised his hand to touch her forehead, but she jumped out of his reach, bumping into the table in the process. She hissed as the feeling of pain spread from her hip.

Once more, Archer sighed. The realization how he did that a lot that evening occurred to him. She watched him as he bent down the sink and opened the cabinet, pulling out a small kitten.

"I found it two days ago. It was probably taken by some kids and then they left him, after being bored." He said softly, giving it to Rin. "I don’t keep it in my shirt, you know. Just… I guess I didn’t want to bother you with it when you’re sick.”

She took the kitten, which was now purring, and looked at the man, surprised. He took the kettle and continued making tea like it was the most interesting activity in the world.

"I didn't want to bother you with it, and, honestly, I don't know how you feel about cats so..." He tried to come up with an explanation but drifted away. He put two cups on a tray and ran a hand through his hair. "Ah, I'm not really good at stuff like these..."

"I like cats." She whispered, clutching the small animal to her chest. It was falling asleep, still purring.

"Ah, you do... I see." He cleared his throat. "Well, I don't know, would you like to take care of it? Erm, I mean, until we find him a place to stay or something. You don't have to—well, it's my problem and—“

"Yes, I would love to. Can I?" She smiled, stroking the kitten with a finger.

"Okay, that settles it then. So, shall we go back to the living room?" Archer said, not looking at her directly, and not waiting for her response, he took the tray and left the kitchen.

Left alone in the kitchen, she looked at the kitten a bit closely. It was very young, probably just learned to walk and eat. Its fur was puffy, and white, she could safely conclude it was the whitest color she ever saw. Its blue eyes were half open, and looking straight at her. It let out the tiniest meow and nestled itself neatly into her arms.

"So much trouble for such a tiny thing." She mumbled, before deciding to join the two men in the living room.

The first thing she noticed when she entered the living room was that the dog was gone. Cu, upon seeing her with the animal, let out an impressed whistle.

"Oh wow, you actually managed to find the cat. I'm impressed, young girl. If it were me, he would have taken the secret into grave.” He continued lower, “Mind you, that grave would be five minutes later, after asking him that question. You sure got balls."

"Yeah, thanks." She smiled and settled into the other armchair. Ever since the high from everything that happened left her, she felt very drained and tired. She pulled her legs up and shuddered a bit.

"I think your fever is coming back," Archer put his hand on her forehead once again, but this time she didn't protest.

"Yeah, I think so too." She looked at him. The light in the room irritated her and she closed her glassy eyes. "I shouldn't have done stuff."

"Nah, it was an amazing show. I couldn't imagine this even if I wanted." Cu said, taking a handful of peanuts from the bowl on the coffee table. Archer shot him a glare, to which the other man just grinned mischievously.

"Ok, it's time for you to go to bed. If your fever isn't gone by tomorrow, then it's time to call a doctor or something." Archer said, making a worried face just for a brief moment. He turned to his friend. "So, what did you decide? Staying over or going home?"

"I think I'll stay. It's getting late and by the time I get home it will probably start raining." He shrugged. "And I got to get up early."

Rin slowly stood up and waved a goodbye to them.

"Ah no, wait a minute." Archer stood up. "Give me the cat. You will not sleep with it."

"Aw, why not?" She protested.

"It's not healthy, and you have to recover. Now give it here, you'll get it back tomorrow, I promise."

"You are not fun at all." She grumbled, giving him the animal.

"Your idea of fun borders on assault." He smirked, not resisting picking at her for what happened.

"Ah, well, erm, g-good night, you two." She stuttered, reaching her room in two steps.

"Good night, Rin-chan." Cu said, throwing another peanut and catching it midair.

Rin closed the door and leaned on them, sighing deeply. She was extremely grateful Archer decided to drop the whole matter in the kitchen. If he didn't, she was pretty sure she would've died there from embarrassment. Making a mental note to never get so excited for things anymore, she crawled underneath the sheets and blankets, and soon was drifting to sleep.

* * *

“No going out of the house for a week."

"What? B-but, my classes—"

"Your classes will have to wait. Your studies will not suffer from this, but your health will if you go outside in this condition."

The doctor, a tall woman with long brown hair, zipped her bag and stood up, giving Rin one last smile before leaving. "I will come by once more before the week is over. Now, excuse me, I am going to be late for work."

Rin thanked the woman and slumped back on her bed. _This day has started wild._

Rin heard the main door closing. Couple of minutes later, she heard a knock.

"Come in." She said. Archer entered the room and stood in the middle of it.

"So, how are you feeling today?" He asked.

"Much better, to be honest. I really don't understand all this fuss. I'm really fine. It's not like I'm coughing or anything."

"Well, I hate to admit, but the witch-doctor is right. You should stay in bed for the time being."

"Witch-doctor?" Rin giggled.

He waved his hand dismissively.

"Oh, where's the cat by the way?" She asked looking around, expecting it to be on the floor.

"On the couch, sleeping. The dog is also gone."

"Okay, but seriously, what was the deal with that dog? It's huge!"

"Ah," Archer scratched his cheek awkwardly, "well, it's a long story, you know."

"Archer, I am bedridden for couple of days. There's nothing interesting for me to do than listen to the stories."

He pulled a chair that was at the desk settled at the opposite wall and sat near her bed.

"Okay, so, last night it was raining, and cold, so we decided to keep the dog inside, since Cu has decided to take it for a walk or something, I don't know I wasn't really listening, truth to be told. Anyway, it was making a lot of noise so we decided to put it in my room, so it won't wake you up. It was all well and good, until you decided to enter my room and the rest you know."

"I see." She nodded seriously, pretending it was a very serious story. "But, why does Cu have that huge dog?"

"He likes dogs." Archer shrugged. "If I remember correctly, that dog is a gift and he had it for years now. It's quite playful and mostly silent, but also very cowardly. A shame, it would be a good hunting dog."

"And it's named Culann?"

"Yeah, kind of a weird name, I know, but Cu said it's named after his great-grandfather or something. Oh, was that the doorbell?"

He turned around, looking at the living room. Rin heard it too.

"Are you expecting someone?" She asked.

The doorbell rang again.                                                                       

"I'll be right back," Archer said and left to answer the door.

Rin could hear a female voice talking to him and soon enough a girl appeared at her doorway.

"Man, just your luck, Tohsaka. First week of classes and you're already sick." Mitsuzuri greeted her like usual.

"Well, Mitsuzuri, that's because I hang out with you a lot. You suck out all my life energy and waste it on things like sports and video games." Rin couldn't resist but reply with as much vigor as her female friend.

"Yup, should’ve seen it, Tohsaka, I became so pretty. Oh, I brought you some notes from the classes you missed." Mitsuzuri said, claiming the chair.. "Well, you haven't missed anything in particular, but there were some teachers who just started lecturing like it's not even first day or something. 'The first day has already passed; you will fail if you don't start studying now." She continued, imitating an old guy.

"Is that how you blow some steam? Imitating old teachers?" Rin tried to suppress a giggle.

"Anyway, to change the topic a bit, but there's a huge archery range around the university building and I decided to enter the club. It's going to be so much fun. I even tried to convince Emiya to join with me, but he declined. I have to admit he was the best addition to the team we had in high school. It’s such a shame he quit."

She paused, remembering the time when Emiya Shirou was in the archery club. “Anyway, I drabbled a lot. Tohsaka how are you feeling now?"

"I am fine, but it seems I won't be able to go to classes for a week." Rin sighed.

"What? Man, Tohsaka, you have such low health, if one dip into the fountain ended up with a week in bed." Mitsuzuri said.

"It's not a cold; it's some kind of flu. I don't know this is all so confusing."

"Hm, maybe the fountain incident just triggered it. Speaking of it, whole university is talking about it. Some even filmed it. It was amazing." Mitsuzuri continued, all happy. "They said that no one in their right mind would've dragged the janitor down with them. You're like a living legend now, Tohsaka, internet legend."

"Oh wow, I am so happy to be known as the fountain girl." She replied sarcastically. “Trust me, I didn't do it on purpose, Mitsuzuri. Anyway, it's that damn janitor’s entire fault, you know."

"Truth to be told, it was mostly Emiya's fault and deep down in your heart you know it, Tohsaka." Mitsuzuri said. "Also it looked like you know him?"

"Yeah, he... drops by to the apartment sometimes." Rin said, and then continued carefully. "He's apparently friends with my roommate."

"Oh wow, small world." Mitsuzuri replied. "Speaking of him, he is nothing like I imagined. I thought he'd be older, too, for that matter."

“He’s exactly as you imagined him, don’t lie to me.” Rin sighed. Mitsuzuri nodded, grinning.

"He seems... nice. I mean, he was really polite when we introduced ourselves." Mitsuzuri said unconvincingly. "I can't shake a feeling he looks familiar."

"Me neither, to tell you the truth. It's like I saw his face somewhere..."

They both drifted off into silence.

"He also has amazing hearing, you know." Rin said, grinning.

"Topic change!" Mitsuzuri yelled, clapping her hands. "So, what have you been doing, except being in bed these couple of days?"

"Sleeping. Eating. Taking meds... What do you expect a sick person to do, Mitsuzuri?"

"I don't know I've never been sick."

"You were hospitalized in third year." Rin replied, annoyed.

"Yeah, but that was because of that robber. Heh, you should've seen him, though. Dad told me the police waited two weeks for him to be dismissed from hospital."

"Scary..."

"Oh, right! Since when do you have a cat?"

"Ah, the cat. Since yesterday, It's only temporary. Speaking of that, would you maybe like to adopt a cat?"

"No can do, Tohsaka. My landlord doesn't like pets. But I can ask around, if you want?"

"No, it's okay. I'll do this." Rin said, and then continued begrudgingly, "as soon as I am allowed to get up."

"Well, it's not like you got to sit in the bed all day, right? You just can't get out of the house.” Mitsuzuri suddenly turned around. “Wait, what time is it?"

"Erm, it's almost eleven o'clock."

"Damn, I’m going to be late for class. Anyway, I need to go now, Tohsaka. You stay put and leave the school to me. I'll come visit you soon, with more notes." Said Mitsuzuri, standing up.

"Wait, I'll see you off," Rin said, standing up.

"Nah, we know where the exit is. You just sit there and get better, okay?" Mitsuzuri put a hand on Rin's shoulder, stopping her. "Off we go now. Bye!"

Rin heard the girl say goodbye to her roommate and soon, it was silence again. Realizing she had enough of her room, she stood up and took a blanket with her to the living room.

She settled on the couch and covered herself with the blanket. There was a teacup on the table and the TV was on, although with lowered sound. She heard Archer in the kitchen.

"Can you get me a glass of water, please?" Rin yelled from the couch.

"I am not your maid." Came a response from the kitchen, but, sure enough, he appeared couple of moments later with a glass of water in his hand.

"Thanks. What are you doing there?"

"Nothing in particular. Are you hungry? You should eat."

"Well, not really, I'm mostly sleepy."

"Hm, you should still eat. I'll be leaving in half an hour and I won't be able to help you anymore."

"Oh, where are you going?"

"Work."

"Right, I forgot you work. Where do you work, anyway?"

"Heh, you want to know?”He smirked. “Where do you think I work?"

"Hmm, you are either a mechanic, or a security guard." She said, jokingly.

He laughed."Off the mark, totally."

Rin now thought a bit more about it. In the end, deciding it was too much for her brain at the moment, she gave up.

“Ah, I can’t do it right now. I’ll ask again when I’m healthy again.” She made herself more comfortable.

"Suit yourself. Anyway, do you want food or not?"

"I'll just make something when I get hungry." She said. "Are you a mercenary?”

He snorted at the guess but pretended to be ignoring the question. "You have soup, you just need to heat it up. Anyway, I'll be off then."

"Why does everyone leave me?" Rin sprawled on the couch, complaining.

"It’s because we have our lives. And as much as you'd like me to take care for you all the time, I do have to earn my paycheck for this month. Don't worry I'll be back soon."

"When is soon?"

"In five hours."

"Five hours?! Oh, whatever, I'll just watch TV or something." She said, and took the remote from the table.

“Or you could go through your notes. You know, the ones your nice friend left you.” He waved goodbye and soon she was, once again, left alone in the house.

"Having flu sucks." She mumbled to herself. The atmosphere reminded her of that time when she was alone for the weekend. However, there weren't any friends now, nor could she hope for anything exciting to happen. She scratched the back of the kitten's head. "At least you haven't abandoned me yet, little one."

The animal stood up, stretched, and sloppily jumped on the floor. Shaking its head, it ran towards its bowl that had milk in it.

"Yeah, nevermind." Rin said, as she pulled the blanket to her nose and turned to the TV.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- I rushed so much through this one you can just feel it.  
> \- Irony: while writing this i got down with a cold. I'll be ok in2 days tho.  
> \- Rider was supposed to appear this chapter. She was supposed to... Well, you'll find out in next chapter  
> \- That is totally not the story of Cu's dog.  
> \- Archer is not a mercenary.   
> \- Ok, funny thing though, he was supposed to be a teacher. That's the AU this one derived from. The idea was dropped very soon cause it's the worst idea I ever had.
> 
>  
> 
> Yeah new chapter coming when I edit - as said, they are mostly written, except I get really annoyed with editing and then close the thing.


	9. Gardens and Recreations

May has arrived very quickly. The somewhat grim exterior of the house Tohsaka Rin lived in became wrapped into various colors in just one month. The flowers were all well cared for; after all, the man whose job was to work around the garden came twice a week of no charge, and the change was incredible.

That afternoon, Rin was sitting on the swing set that was a bit away from the garden path. Neatly hidden by tree leaves and bushes, she was playing with the cat she got three weeks ago. She didn’t want to give it a name, since it wasn’t her cat technically – she was just keeping it until they found it a home. It didn’t stop her from spending every free minute with it.

After a little more than a month, Tohsaka Rin has completely used to the fact she doesn’t live with her parents. It wasn’t as bad as she thought and being mostly independent even at home, the transition was much more fluid and unnoticed.

The university classes helped even more. The lectures were detailed, and nothing like what she was used to, but Rin soon became one of the top students. She wasn’t afraid to speak her mind, nor to ask additional questions, something she never did before. The low-key Tohsaka Rin is no more.

Amazingly, the other student who was sharing the top place with her was Ayako Mitsuzuri. Rin found it surprising, given how Mitsuzuri was always, according to her texts she sent Rin, playing video games and hanging out with friends. Rin thought that Mitsuzuri’s bad habits would prevent her from reaching top, but she was wrong – the competitive spirit was very strong in this girl.

To her dismay, the philosophy class turned out to be one of the most interesting. Kotomine Kirei might be the worst human being in the existence, and she hated him with every fiber of her being, but she couldn’t deny that he was an amazing teacher, apart from the fact that people usually felt mildly under the weather after his class. To Rin, it was actually very motivating, which she dismissed as being part of her stubborn nature.

The total opposite was the World History class. Saber was a very energetic woman who loved telling stories and loved history in general. Her opinion on Ancient European civilizations were always with a dash of humor and made most of the people smile. She also constantly complained about her assistant being away for couple of more weeks, which is probably why she could get away with all the sidetracking she did during classes. Saber was greatly loved by the students and she loved hanging out with them, especially Shirou. However, all that side-tracking meant they didn’t really advance with lectures, and Rin had to double her efforts at home to be able to pass exam.

Rin didn’t mind spending time with her, it made her spirits lift.

The sound of the gate closing brought her back to present and she raised her gaze towards the gate. The man in overalls and a straw hat raised a hand in greeting and walked towards the swing.

“Hey, hey Rin-chan. Just why are you sitting here all alone?”

“Just playing with the cat. You came to do the usual, right?” She greeted Cu  with a smile.

“Mhm, ‘cause if I leave it to you guys, it’ll soon become a haunted mansion.” He replied, giving the cat a scratch behind the ears.

“What do you take us for, Cu?” She pouted.

“Face it, Rin-chan, you can’t even take care of a cactus. Speaking of that, where’s the grumpy part of the house?”

She shrugged. “I guess at work.”

“Oh, good, I thought for a minute he was somewhere here. You know, it’s amazing how fast he realizes I’m talking bad about him. It’s like sixth sense,” Cu scowled.

“Then you should stop talking about him. But I guess that’s impossible.” She shrugged. “Have you noticed how all your troubles start when you open your mouth?”

“Then I shall close it and start working.” He traced his hand over his mouth, like over an imaginary zipper and took the sprinkler.

They sat in silence as Cu worked in the garden and Rin watched the little animal chasing the water drops.

“By the way, Cu, why is there a swing set here?” She asked, but there was no answer. “You know, you can answer when I ask you a question.”

“Beats me. Ask my mother; she loves swings.” He said.

“Oh, maybe she thought you’d finally settle and live here with a woman with two—no, three kids.” She teased him.

“Heavens forbid. She knows better than to place her hopes in me.”

“But don’t you have a girlfriend?”

Rin was confused. Based on what she knew about him, Cu was in a relationship. With whom, she didn’t know, but according the conversations she caught about the woman, she was very sweet and caring, and possibly had a lot of patience, if she was with a man like him.

“Sort of,” he shrugged.

“Fine, you’re as boring as ever.” Rin sighed.

He put the sprinkler down.

“Just how is my life boring in any way,” Cu asked, evidently insulted.

“Relationships that are rocky are just people who’re afraid to express their feelings so they go in circles. There’s nothing new, but drama is constantly there. It’s tiring,” she said, noting in her head that listening to them from the side didn’t count.

“Wait, I never said I had trouble—you know what, never mind. I’m just going to finish this and be on my way.” He continued working, whistling.

Rin looked at the cat, which was now waiting in ambush for the time Cu reaches it.

“Please don’t pour water on my cat.” Rin sighed and swung a bit.

“Don’t worry I won’t. I’m against animal cruelty.”

“Mhm, Where is your dog, though?”

“At my girlfriends place. I couldn’t really bring him with me now, could I?”

“Well, you could, the garden is pretty big.”

“Haha, spoken like a person who doesn’t care about plants at all. Well, I’m done with this, but I think these things here need some more trimming.”

He moved to the rose bushes behind the swing set. And put the equipment on the garden table.

“I love that there are so many plants here.” Rin continued, being determined to make small talk. She didn’t really like when she was alone, which happened often these days, so periods when the talkative gardener came by were highlights of the day for her. “You can’t even see the car because of them.”

“My mom always liked gardens. They are like the souls of the family. If the family is rich in joy and happiness, the garden strives. Or so she thought.”

“That is actually nice.”

“Mind you, if this garden reflected the person living here it would be asphalt.” Cu finished. He was now sprawled on a chair.

Rin laughed. “Careful what you’re saying now. Remember the sixth sense.”

The silence spread throughout the garden. Rin watched as Cu took a cigarette out of the case and lit it.

“Phew, this is life.” He said, making himself comfortable.

“You know, Cu,” Rin began, squirming in her seat uncomfortably, “well, how is your job going?”

He stared at her for couple of moments completely forgetting about the cigarette burning. “It’s fine. Why do you ask?”

“My school is doing great, you know. I’m on top of my class right now,” she continued.

“That’s good to know…” He trailed off absent-mindedly.

 “Cu,” She looked at him once more but he just raised a hand to stop her.

“I am not gonna be fired, don’t you worry.” He said, dropping the cigarette butt on the grass and stepping on it. Then, as if changing his mind, he took it and tossed it over the wall.

“What exactly happened? I saw the ambulance.” Rin pressed on, eager for the news.

Cu sighed. It was fairly obvious this was one topic he didn’t want to talk about. Still, he looked at the sky and made his decision.

“It was an accident; wet floor and all that stuff. I wasn’t really paying attention if there was anyone walking around, I mean – it was during classes and all. So, I just didn’t put up the sign. Y’know, there was no one there.”

“Except there was?” Rin asked.

“Well yeah. Poor professor Jun. I didn’t notice him, he didn’t notice me and let’s face it, even if I put the sign, he would’ve missed it. He’s ancient.”

“So he slipped?”

“Hell no. That guy is as sturdy as a tree. He may be ancient but look at him like you would look at that oak tree,” he said, pointing at the tree at the edge of the garden.

“That oak tree is fairly young.”

“Well yes, but even now it’s hard to take it down. Imagine it in hundred years. That’s professor Jun,” Ce concluded wisely.

“So…” Rin was now at the edge of the swing, not being able to suppress her curiosity. After all, the students talked about it whole day and even she saw the ambulance arriving.

“Ah, forget it, Rin-chan. There’s no use for old gossip.”

“Oh my god. It was you. You slipped.”

Cu fidgeted awkwardly and took another cigarette.

“I can’t believe it.” She said, fighting the urge to burst out laughing, mostly out of the respect for old professor Jun.

“I didn’t slip. I never slip.” Cu mumbled under his breath. He continued in louder voice. “I didn’t do any of the sorts. I work on the ships all the time, Rin-chan, I would’ve been a goner a long time ago if I were to slip so easily. No, what happened is…” He made a pause to light the cigarette and inhale.

“Yes?”

“I tripped him.”

“What?”

“I got carried away, didn’t hear him, and swung the mop.”

“So, he tripped on the mop?”

“Yes, right in front of the stairs. There, now you know the whole story. Are you happy now,” He finished and started looking at the oak tree with great interest. “They ruled it out as accident, since old man Jun managed to tell them exactly what happened.”

“And you couldn’t?”

“They didn’t believe me, to be honest.”

“It’s your face. You don’t’ look reliable, more like plotting something.”

“I guess I deserved that. Anyway, old man Jun is now in hospital with broken hip, and I almost got fired, so I guess it’s been a pretty awful day for me.”

Rin felt a pang of guilt for prompting him to retell events that probably shouldn’t have resurfaced so soon, so decided to change the topic. But she couldn’t find anything of interest. Now that she thought about it, she connected with this man so fast, they never had the need for many words.

This resulted in long periods of silence while alone. Even though she knew that her guest was quite content with only silence, she considered it impolite. Luckily, Rin was saved this time; Cu was grinning wickedly, inspecting the tree much closer now.

“Oh, and that oak tree, I bet I can climb to the top,” he said, pointing at it and already determining the fastest route towards the top.

“That’s unnecessary, Cu.” Rin said, but the curiosity and Cu’s adventurous nature took over soon enough, “but I dare you.”

“Challenge accepted. The tree isn’t very old so it’ll be a bit rocky, but nothing I can’t handle. Just don’t sway it,” he said, reaching for the first branch with ease.

Soon he was half-way up the tree. Rin was watching curiously. Cu was surprisingly agile, something that she wouldn’t take him for.

“You really know your ways when it comes to trees,” she noticed.

“Well, when you are a fan of forbidden love, you need to,” he yelled, continuing towards the top.

“Ah, so that’s how it is,” Rin said, “now everything is clearer.”

“What is? Wait, you don’t mean… No I never did that, that’s false accusations I refuse to acknowledge it.”

“I only meant that I understand now why your relationship is rocky.”

“Oh, that. Nah, it’s as allowed as it can be. Relationships are just complicated, that’s all there is to them.”

Rin heard the gate open for the second time that evening.

Archer made his way to the house, but stopped when he noticed the sprinkler not being at its usual place.

Unfortunately for Cu, he didn’t realize that his friend has just arrived and was in the hearing range of his yells.

“You know, Rin-chan, maybe my relationship is rocky, but at least I have one, compared to that guy you share house with.” He said, gazing up to determine which branch he could reach next.

“Cu…” Rin was looking now at Archer who just frowned and continued to stare at the tree.

“Well it is true. It’s his grumpy face, I tell you. He’s always so uptight, as he has a stick up his—“

“I don’t think you should—Remember the sixth sense.”

“Nah, Rin, let him speak. It’s confession time.” Archer said, positioning himself beneath the tree.

Cu missed a branch and steadied himself in an instant.

“Oh no.”..

“But seriously, let it all out. You always were more honest when you were high, so let’s hear it.” Archer was now grinning, but nothing like he did usually. Rin could practically feel the hostility he emanated towards the other man.

“Can I… Can I come down first?” Cu asked tentatively.

“Sure. Here, let me help.”

Archer shook the tree a bit which prompted Cu to hug it instinctively.

“No, wait, stop it, I don’t want down.”

“Make up your mind. Honestly, I can stay here whole day. I got nothing else to do.”

“That’s ridiculous. Just let him come down. He’ll fall.” Rin was worried now. If he fell from that height, Cu could break something.

“I’m not stopping him. I’m just waiting for him to come down.” Archer said, shaking the tree a bit more.

“I’d rather stay here for the time being.” Cu said, finding a branch that was strong enough for him to be comfortable.

“Seriously, both of you, this is too dangerous. Stop it.” Rin was now extremely worried considering the way the things were going.

Archer shook the tree again.

“You know what? Fine, do what you want. It’s too much for me to deal with it.” Rin said, and in one swift motion picked up the cat and went inside.

“Wait, Rin-chan, please don’t leave me here alone with this monster.” Cu pleaded.

Inside, she put the cat down and leaned on the door, sighing. There was nothing more tiring than two grown men behaving immature. Soon enough she heard a yell and a small thud as Cu probably jumped on the ground.

“I guess he finally got off the tree.” Rin mumbled.

She went to the kitchen and pulled out some juice and three glasses, when she heard the duo come inside.

“Ah, this is gonna leave a bruise.”

“It’s your fault, not mine.”

“I didn’t shake the tree, y’know.”

“And just why would I make it easy for you?”

At this point Tohsaka Rin decided she had it enough.

“Okay, just what is wrong with you two?”  She said, emerging from the kitchen. “Can’t you behave like grownups just for a moment? I’ve seen ten year olds who are more mature than you.”

Rin put the glasses on the table and poured the juice. The two men were now looking at her, completely dumbfounded. They both sat down at the same time, Cu wincing a bit.

“Just let it go sometimes. It’s not the end of the world.” She finished.

There was a moments of silence, and then Archer glanced at his friend.

“He started it first.” With a shrug, he said those words as if it was something completely natural to say, given his serious demeanor.

“You continued.” Cu retorted, just as serious as the other man.

“Oh for heaven’s sake!” Rin stood up and stomped to her room.

As she left the room the two men burst out laughing.

“Man, we should stop doing this,” said Cu, wiping the tears. “I mean, it’s good fun and everything, but I think we’re overdoing it.”

“If you let your guard down even for a second, you’ll regret it. Mark my words.” Archer replied, still chuckling.

“I suppose you’re right.” Cu sighed.

“Something troubling you?” Archer asked, reaching under the table and pulling the ashtray out.

“I guess it is as they say – bad news travel much faster. Saber told you, didn’t she?” Once again Cu reached for the cigarette pack but stopped half-way, as if deciding against it.

“No I just realized, since you are sticking around.” Archer nudged the ashtray a bit closer. “It’s a one-time offer, don’t waste it.”

Lighting a cigarette, Cu told his friend everything that happened – the whole accident from early that day. It was one of the reasons why he liked talking to him; Archer was capable of evaluating a situation instantly and to respond correctly. There were times when he would decide to respond inappropriately, and Cu knew it was on purpose. He was really grateful to Archer for refraining from laughing, no matter how funny the situation was on the first telling.

“That is one big mess you got yourself into. But then again, I am really not surprised.” Archer commented, after hearing the whole story.

“Well, the good thing is that I am not being fired.” Cu hung his head. “But, to top it all, now half the students think I’m a hero, half hate me. Because they have exams soon, and I just stuck their professor in hospital. He won’t be back in time for exams. Hell, he’ll probably retire after this.”

Archer shrugged.  “Must be tough.”

“You’re such a good listening buddy,” Cu said, not even trying to hide sarcasm in his tone.

“Well what do you want me to do? Pat you on the head and give you a blanked and tea?” Archer retorted and then shook his head at Cu’s grin. “You aren’t getting that, forget it.”

“Best friend, my ass.” Cu muttered under his breath. “But man, I had such a beautiful job. Everyone loved the janitor. Now all I get are dirty looks.”

“Why don’t you try to apologize? I noticed that works, usually.”

“Are you giving me an advice to apologize? You, of all people?” Cu sneered. “But yeah, I don’t think an apology would work, I need to do something bigger.”

“Do whatever you want, but don’t drag me in. I’m quite busy as it is.” Archer said, standing up and reaching for his bag.

Cu glanced at the bag and then did a double take.

“Wait.”

“What? You need my bag?”

“No, it’s more like… You are in touch with her.” Cu was looking at Archer with an expression of a drowning man seeing a rope of salvation.

Archer looked at the other man, confused, and then realized.

“Oh no, not a chance. Forget it.”

“But come on! It’s not like they will be able to find a replacement so suddenly!” Cu pleaded. “Also, there’s no way this could backfire.”

“There’s at least four possible ways for it to backfire.” Archer said, throwing his bag into his room.

“Man, you know, deep down, she would enjoy it. It’s a new experience. Are you saying you’re against new experiences?”

“When wasn’t I?”

“Today?” Cu grinned sheepishly. “Okay, seriously, can’t you contact Medusa?”

“I’m not doing it.”

Cu clicked his tongue in annoyance. “If it doesn’t work, it’s time for plan B.”                       

In two steps, he reached Rin’s door and knocked hard. Archer stopped in his track, a look of horror on his face. If his friend drags Tohsaka Rin into this, he has already won the battle.

“Ok, fine,” he sighed.

“Then you’ll do it? You’ll go visit her?” Cu grinned.

“I promise I’ll look into it.” Archer said, glaring at the triumphant expression on Cu’s face. “But that’s all. If she declines, you will not bug me anymore. Also, why don’t you do it?”

“I always had impression she hates my guts.”

“No, she doesn’t. If it’s anyone she hates, it’s probably me, I guess. Because of—“

The door to Rin’s room opened slightly and they could see an eye watching them carefully.

“Are you two done making fun of me?” Rin grumbled.

“Yes.” They replied in unison.

“Good.” She returned to the living room and slumped to her usual place, the armchair.

Cu patted her shoulder as he passed. “It’s a beautiful day, Rin-chan, don’t you agree.”

Rin looked at Archer asking for explanation, but he just shook his head and went to his room. _What the hell happened while I was gone?_

Cu turned on the tv searching for something to pass the time. He stopped when he saw a black and white movie.

“Now this is something you don’t see today.” He said, pointing with the remote at the TV.

“Oh?” Rin glanced at the screen. The old movies never caught her attention so hearing someone say that took her by surprise.

“Yeah. Sure, the special effects might be awful, since the technology didn’t advance too much, but the storytelling is glorious.”

“I never thought you’d be a guy who enjoys movies like these.” Rin commented.

The movie actually caught her attention.

Soon, Archer joined, making himself comfortable in the second armchair and pulling the coffee table closer. He put an alarm clock on it and opened it.

They all fell into comfortable pace; Cu and Rin commenting the movie, with Archer occasionally glancing at it whenever the two made exciting sounds. Rin had to admit that the movie was very interesting and she caught herself sitting on the edge of the armchair, or gripping it in anticipation of the events to unravel.

“Okay, but Bobby is totally cheating on his wife. He has to be.” Rin said.

“I think he’s telling the truth. Like, not once was he shown with another woman. It’s awful how Claudia thinks he is lying.” Cu replied. “Oh, commercial break, nice.”

“I’m in mood for some popcorn,” Rin sighed, finally relaxing.

“Then make it,” Archer said, not raising his eyes from the clock.

“But I will give you four reasons why you should make popcorn.” Rin said, making sure to smile with the sweetest smile ever.

Archer glanced at her and went back working.

“First, it’s a well-deserved break for you. Second, you make them better than me.”

At this he smirked and even though he didn’t raise his gaze, his hands stopped moving. It was clear she got his attention now.

“Third, you aren’t even watching the movie.” Rin continued, knowing she already caught him in the trap. “And fourth, and very last, pretty please?”

Archer seemed to ponder it a bit and then he put the screwdriver down.

“I suppose I could take a break.” He stood up and stretched.

“Thank you.” She beamed at him.

For an instance, she thought she saw a ghost of a smile on his face, but it was so quick she chalked it to her imagination. Cu watched as his friend disappeared into the kitchen and then leaned towards Rin.

“How are you doing that?” He asked.

“Magic,” Rin replied, grinning. “Well, I said please, I think that did it.”

The man frowned a bit and sighing turned his attention back to the TV opting for not pointing out the slight misunderstanding that just happened.

A bit later, Archer returned with large bowl full of popcorn. He shoved it into Rin’s hands and sat down to work again.

“Wait, how are we gonna do this? I can’t reach the popcorn.”

“Oh, well, you can’t have it, it’s mine. Archer gave it to me.” Rin smirked, sinking a bit more into the armchair.

“Or you could just move and sit next to me,” Cu grinned, tapping the cushion beside him.

“I’ll grab another bowl if it’ll make you shut up,” Archer said suddenly, standing up.

“Yeah, that’ll do.” Cu smirked.

While Archer went for the second time to the kitchen, the duo continued watching the movie. In it, two men were arguing over some stolen documents and one was held at a gunpoint.

“Ok, my prediction is: Bobby will give Richie the documents, but Richie will still shoot him.”

“I feel sorry for Bobby, I can’t believe Claudia was the real mastermind.”

Just so, a gunshot echoed through the room; the scene went exactly like Cu predicted. A blunt noise followed shortly after.

“Ow,” Cu turned around to see Archer standing behind him.

“I told you not to turn it on so loud. Here’s your bowl,” he said, dropping it in Cu’s lap.

“Yeah, sorry.”

_Strange,_ Rin thought.

They all settled back into original atmosphere that was established during the first half of the movie.

“Okay, Claudia totally deserves what happens when Bobby gets back.” Cu commented, now sprawled all over the couch.

“Bobby will die on his way home and she’ll marry Richard.” Archer said, putting screws on a small tray on the, now significantly bigger, pile on the right side of the table.

“Wanna bet?” Cu asked.

“Sure. The usual?” Archer extended his hand towards the other man.

“The usual.” Cu took the hand and they shook. “Rin-chan, you’re the witness.”

“You do this often, do you?” Rin sighed.

“Pretty much.” Archer said, going back to his work.

Fifteen minutes later, the movie finished just as Archer predicted. Cu sighed and reached into his pocket.

“You watched this movie before, didn’t you?” He put the money on the table.

“Maybe,” Archer smirked.

Rin yawned. As much as she enjoyed their company, she was now feeling tired, and there was still homework to do. Excusing herself, she went back to her room, and started on her studies. Soon she heard the main door, meaning Cu left.

“Just why do I have a feeling something’s changed?” She asked herself, flipping the page in the book.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- Ok so.. ummm... how do i say this... well, I kinda forgot about this fic. I literally forgot I have this fic that is ongoing. So many things happened. With work, studying, and all the stuff, I have been away from internet for so long, and didn't have time to indulge myself at all.   
> \- I am deeply sorry I regret this very much.   
> \- Also this is the last chapter I wrote ages ago. Now i gotta write from scratch, and then let it sit for a while and then reread it and hope it's ok and I don't make any drastic changes anymore.  
> \- This was supposed to be just a side one piece for the fic, but I ended up implementing it in the main story. There's nothing interesting to add.. If you have questions, shoot?  
> \- How was your Summer? I hope you all had a good break, just as I did. Tell me interesting stuff you did.


End file.
